Letterboxd’s Sale to the New York Times: 9 Pros, Cons, and Big Questions from the $330 Million Deal

The New York Times is acquiring Letterboxd, the film-logging social media platform, for $330 million. The Canadian holding company Tiny, which bought a majority stake in 2023 at a $50 million valuation, will exit the deal.

Social media response to the acquisition has mixed resignation with concern. Users expressed relief that a studio like A24, Sony, Netflix, or Skydance did not purchase Letterboxd. A media company ownership, the thinking goes, could protect editorial independence better than a studio with financial incentives to promote in-house titles.

But the deal raises questions about trust. The New York Times' coverage of Palestine and trans rights matters to some Letterboxd users. For them, the Times owning their community raises stakes about institutional values.

Letterboxd's Journal, a staffed editorial publication with interviews, festival coverage, and longform articles, faces unclear prospects. When the Times bought The Athletic for $550 million in 2022, the sports banner initially remained semi-independent. Within a year, the Times dissolved its sports department and repositioned The Athletic as a replacement. The Times' culture desk has undergone recent shake-ups, raising questions about potential future changes.

The platform has experienced technical troubles as user accounts have grown, with frequent Cloudflare verification pop-ups and server crashes. The Times draws far more web traffic and has resources to strengthen Letterboxd's infrastructure.

Letterboxd users are notably sensitive to platform changes. When the site removed an option to view all star-ratings from followed accounts, backlash prompted rapid reinstatement. Small UI tweaks could face quick user resistance under new ownership.

The strategic fit remains unclear. Letterboxd exists between editorial product and game, with no direct equivalent in the Times organization. It's uncertain whether the Times plans to move Letterboxd behind its $30 monthly paywall, use user data to boost streaming promotions, or integrate it with Wirecutter, its product recommendation service.