Gaming

Netflix wants to buy Letterboxd, the last good social media site

Jul 10, 2026 - 22:05

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Netflix wants to buy Letterboxd, the last good social media site

Published Jul 10, 2026, 1:00 PM EDT

The Big N wants to own one of the most influential sites for modern movie talk

Illustration: Ariel Davis for Polygon

Cinephiles, it’s time for red alert: Netflix is reportedly in talks to buy Letterboxd. According to a report from Puck, the streamer is in early negotiations to acquire the company, alongside other Hollywood suitors (Sony Pictures and Paramount), private equity groups like TPG and RedBird, and Reddit co-founder and investor Alexis Ohanian.

Letterboxd is a social media site that lets users rate, review, and share the movies they’ve been watching. It has accumulated more than 30 million users since its founding in 2011 and has become a major platform for online cinema discussion.

In April, it emerged that Tiny, which had previously acquired a 60% stake in Letterboxd in a $50 million deal, is considering selling its shares. The platform is reportedly being valued at an impressive $250 million. Versant (which owns Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes) and The Ankler expressed interest, and in response, the public-benefit corporation Intrinsic Entertainment Collaborative launched a crowdfunding campaign to prevent the platform from being purchased and “slowly hollowed out until it becomes something else.”

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If Netflix, Sony, or Paramount were to purchase the site, many are concerned that these companies may tip the scales, skewing the app toward their own films by manipulating feeds. "No, I don't want any company from the movie business to own Letterboxd," a Reddit user wrote. "They would turn the site into an advertisement space for their own productions, like Amazon did with IMDB." As for private equity firms, it’s possible these groups would seek to more heavily monetize the platform by placing additional services behind a premium subscription or by introducing more ads.

The social media sphere is increasingly owned by polarizing parties, including maligned trillionaire Elon Musk and frequent Senate Committee hearing "guest" Mark Zuckerberg. After threats of a ban, TikTok has become closely tied to the Trump administration, allegedly stifling criticism of the president and discussions around Jeffrey Epstein. While Bluesky is still going strong, social media as a whole is not healthy. Hopefully, Letterboxd survives unscathed, because where else would you be inundated with glowing Speed Racer reviews and recommendations for obscure François Truffaut films?