Letterboxd ( ) is an online social cataloging service for

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

founded (partially with investment company Tiny since 2023) and owned by Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow in 2011, and headquartered in New Zealand. Members can rate and review films, keep track of which ones they have seen in the past and when, make lists of films, showcase their favorites, tag films using text keywords, and interact with other cinephiles. It has been described as "

Goodreads Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and readi ...

for movies." Letterboxd's popularity spiked during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. It had over 17 million registered users as of January 2025. Although the website is generally limited to films, its leadership intends to add television shows in the future.

History

Development

Seeking to develop a "

for film," web designers Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow launched a private version of the Letterboxd website at the Brooklyn Beta web conference in October 2011. The name "Letterboxd" is an allusion to letterboxing, the practice of placing black bars on the edges of a screen to preserve a movie's original

aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a geometry, geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangl ...

. Buchanan and von Randow launched an invitation-only beta version on 24 April 2012 and opened the site to the general public on 8 February 2013. Until March 2020, Letterboxd did not employ any full-time personnel. In September 2023, the company had 16 full-time and 12 part-time employees. In September 2023, Canadian investment company Tiny acquired a 60% majority stake in Letterboxd, valuing the company at around $50–60 million. Buchanan and von Randow continue to lead the company. Upon its acquisition, Letterboxd concurrently announced that it intended to add television shows to the site. (Due to Letterboxd's reliance on outside vendor The Movie Database for its list of extant films,

limited-run series In television programming, a limited-run series (or simply limited series) is a Television program, program with an end date and limit to the number of episodes. For instance, The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' definition specifies a "pr ...

and a small number of recurring series have been loggable on the site for years.) Buchanan acknowledged that the decision to add TV shows has been met with some controversy by the Letterboxd community, but assured users that the introduction of television to the platform will not disrupt the current user experience.

Growth

In May 2017 (six years after launch), Letterboxd users collectively logged their 100 millionth film; they reached the 1 billion mark on 19 July 2022. As of 23 March 2025, users have logged over 498 movies at least one million times each (the oldest being

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

''), and 70 movies at least three million times each. In February 2025, ''

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...

'' became the first film to be logged five million times on the platform. Letterboxd's userbase swelled during the

. Its user count rose from 1.8 million in March 2020 to 3 million in January 2021, 4.1 million in December of that year, 10 million in September 2023, 12 million in February 2024, 14 million four months later in June, and 17 million by the end of 2024. In September 2020, film critic Scott Tobias called Letterboxd "the safest space for film discussion we've got." Once movie theaters reopened,

arthouse An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

and classic film organizations like the

American Cinematheque The American Cinematheque is an independent, non-profit cultural organization in Los Angeles, California, United States that represents the public presentation of the moving image in all its forms. It presents festivals and retrospectives that ...

reported that Letterboxd helped drive younger filmgoers to visit their programs. Six films have held the title of highest-rated narrative feature on Letterboxd: ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

'', ''

Parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

'', ''

Everything Everywhere All at Once ''Everything Everywhere All at Once'' is a 2022 American Independent film, independent Absurdist fiction, absurdist comedy-drama film written and directed by Daniels (directors), Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who produced it with Russo brot ...

'', '' Come and See'', '' Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'', and '' Harakiri''. ''Harakiri'' is the current title-holder as of May 2025.

Reputation

The site has a reputation (both positive and negative) for attracting cinephiles and members of Film Twitter. An internal survey conducted in late 2022 showed that Letterboxd users, on average, watched more movies and spent more money on movies than general moviegoers. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' noted that " at rises to the top of the site’s page for most popular reviews ranges wildly: "There are obscure memes, diaristic essays and sprawling screeds packed with pseudo-academic jargon," but added that "the lack of rules or structure can also lead to some interesting, unconventional criticism, and offers a platform to voices that might otherwise not be heard." The site has been praised for its comparative and competitive pressures, as well as its roles in facilitating genuine connections centered on shared interests; fostering exploration across cinema genres and eras; challenging gatekeeping in the film community; and connecting like-minded individuals within digital communities. Conversely, it has been criticized for gamifying the act of watching films and boosting sardonic one-line reviews over more in-depth assessments. In recent years, several notable members of the film industry have joined the site. When actress Iman Vellani was cast as Kamala Khan in '' Ms. Marvel'', fans quickly found her Letterboxd account and some of her reviews went viral, particularly her review of '' Captain Marvel.'' Director

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

opened a Letterboxd account in October 2023 and quickly became the most-followed user on the site. However, as of December 2024, Ayo Edebiri is the most-followed user on Letterboxd. Other filmmakers and actors have actively used Letterboxd, including *

Allan Arkush Allan Arkush (born April 30, 1948) is an American director and producer of films, television and videos. He is a regular collaborator with Joe Dante. Early life Arkush grew up in Fort Lee, New Jersey. He graduated in 1966 from Fort Lee High ...

Roger Avary Roger Roberts Avary (born August 23, 1965) is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his work with Quentin Tarantino on the script for ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994), for which they won Best Original Screenpla ...

Sean Baker Sean Baker (born February 26, 1971) is an American filmmaker. He is a director, writer, editor, and producer of Independent film, independent narrative feature films which are most often about the lives of marginalized people, especially immi ...

Jim Beaver James Norman Beaver Jr. (born August 12, 1950) is an American actor, writer, and film historian. He is most familiar to worldwide audiences as Bobby Singer in ''Supernatural''. He also played Whitney Ellsworth on the HBO Western drama series '' ...

* Simon Barrett *

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

* Aneesh Chaganty * Rob Coleman * Carrie Coon and Tracy Letts * Barbara Crampton *

Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in over 400 titles. Cummings has frequently worked with the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., serving as the offic ...

Scott Derrickson Scott Derrickson (born July 16, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He is known for his work in the horror genre, directing films such as ''The Exorcism of Emily Rose'' (2005), ''Sinister (film), Sinister'' (2012), and ''The Black Phone'' (2021). He ...

* Brian Duffield * Elsie Fisher * Mike Flanagan * Jared Gilman * Daniel Goldhaber * Dylan Gelula * Chad Hartigan * Paul Walter Hauser * Max Hechtman * Jordan Horowitz *

Anurag Kashyap Anurag Kashyap (born 10 September 1972) is an Indian filmmaker and actor known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of four Filmfare Awards. For his contributions to films, the Government of France made him a Knight of the Ordre ...

Owen Kline Owen Joseph Kline (born October 14, 1991) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for his directorial debut ''Funny Pages (film), Funny Pages'' (2022) and his performance as Frank Berkman in ''The Squid and the Whale'' (2005). Earl ...

* Chandler Levack * Joe Lynch *

Kyle MacLachlan Kyle Merritt MacLachlan ( ; ' McLachlan, February 22, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning role as Dale Cooper in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) and its film prequel '' Twin Peaks: Fire ...

Jaeden Martell Jaeden Martell ( né Lieberher; born January 4, 2003) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, with roles in the comedy drama '' St. Vincent'' (2014) and science fiction film '' Midnight Special'' (2016). His performance in ''S ...

* Christopher McQuarrie * Max Minghella * Dacre Montgomery *

Hari Nef Hari Nef (born October 21, 1992) is an American actress, model, and writer. Nef's breakthrough role was Gittel in the Amazon original series '' Transparent'', for which she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performa ...

* Griffin Newman * Wyatt Oleff * Josh Ruben * Rachel Sennott * Sarah Sherman * Oren Soffer *

Adam Wingard Adam Wingard ( ; born December 3, 1982) is an American filmmaker. He has served as a film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, cinematographer, actor, and composer on numerous American films. Following an early career as a member of the mu ...

* Michael Williams * Alex Winter * Ivy Wolk *

Edgar Wright Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical Film genre, genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zo ...

In addition, filmmakers like Scorsese,

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American film director, screenwriter, author and producer, best known for his stylized crime dramas. He has received a BAFTA Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for four ...

, and

Rian Johnson Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut with the neo-noir mystery film ''Brick (film), Brick'' (2005), which received positive reviews and grossed nearly $4 million on a $450,000 budget ...

, as well as fictional film character

Paddington Bear Paddington Bear (though his name is just Paddington; the "Bear" simply serves to confirm his species; and also known as Paddington Brown for some sources) is a fictional character in British children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October ...

, have created Letterboxd profiles in order to post their lists of recommended films. Letterboxd's marketing team also frequently interviews Hollywood celebrities about their four favorite films, based on the Letterboxd feature that allows users to publicly display their own favorite movies on their user profiles. In March 2024, Letterboxd disclosed that it had suffered a

data breach A data breach, also known as data leakage, is "the unauthorized exposure, disclosure, or loss of personal information". Attackers have a variety of motives, from financial gain to political activism, political repression, and espionage. There ...

the previous February via a compromised staff account. The company said that the breaching party had accessed "significantly less than 1% of all accounts."

Features

General features

Anyone can read content on the site. However, users who want to participate must create a Letterboxd account. All members can rate films on a scale of one to five stars (with half-stars also allowed), review films, and tag them with relevant keywords. Members may also list their four favorite films, maintain lists of films they have watched or want to watch, and interact with other members. A follower model enables members to follow and get updates about the activity of others on the site. Lists could originally only be made public or private to the user. In April 2023, finer controls were added which allowed sharing a list with specific users via a secret link. In December 2023, Letterboxd partnered with the aggregator Assemble to launch a feature identifying showtimes and links to ticketing websites for movies that were currently in theaters. The feature applies to movie theaters in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. Letterboxd is available as a

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...

for Android and

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

Paid membership features

Since opening to the public in February 2013, Letterboxd has offered a tiered membership structure, with both free and paid memberships. Paid subscribers can access a broader range of features, including individual user data (such as hours spent watching films, favorite directors, and types of ratings given) and a tool that identifies whether a film is available on a streaming service to which the user has a subscription. In September 2020, Letterboxd announced a new "HQ" membership type for film-related organizations, such as movie theaters, studios, festivals, and podcasts. HQ members can post news stories, link to external websites, and access web analytics.

Film data

All film-related

metadata Metadata (or metainformation) is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data itself, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including: * Descriptive ...

used on the website is supplied by The Movie Database, an

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

database. In September 2019, the site partnered with JustWatch to display online viewing options for films. In March 2022, the site partnered with Nanocrowd to show "nanogenres" and recommendations for similar films to users.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 2011 establishments in New Zealand 2023 mergers and acquisitions Internet properties established in 2011 New Zealand film websites New Zealand social networking websites Online film databases Social cataloging applications