The New York Times Company is finalizing a deal to acquire Letterboxd, the social networking platform for film enthusiasts, in a transaction valuing the website at $330 million. An agreement has not yet been finalized, though the companies have entered exclusive negotiations.
The Times will acquire a controlling stake from Tiny, a Canadian public company that bought a 60 percent stake in Letterboxd in 2023 when it was valued at $50 million. Tiny has been exploring a sale since April. The $330 million valuation is more than 20 times Letterboxd's projected 2026 earnings of about $15 million.
The Times prevailed over finalists Sony Pictures Entertainment and A24. Sony has acquired outlets including Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas and Cosm. A24 was in late-stage talks and promised Letterboxd's founders Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow that it would maintain the platform's independence and business model unchanged.
The Times has discussed keeping both founders in place, with each reporting to a Times executive. Letterboxd has grown to 26 million users since Tiny's acquisition. The platform introduced a Letterboxd Video Store offering digital rentals of festival releases and independent films. It has not yet delivered promised features like the ability to log TV shows.
The Times, which currently has 13.8 million paid subscribers and aims to reach 15 million by the end of 2027, could integrate Letterboxd into its film and TV reviews, its Watching blog, or its popular NYT Game. Letterboxd's paid subscription tiers could be bundled with Times subscriptions including The Athletic, Cooking, or Games.