A24, Sony, and Netflix all wanted it. The Times paid $330 million and won the film community's most essential platform.

The New York Times Company is in exclusive talks to acquire Letterboxd, the film-logging and social platform, for approximately $330 million, according to a report by The New York Times on November 5. No agreement has been signed and the talks could still collapse.

The price values Letterboxd at roughly 22 times its projected 2026 earnings of $15 million. Under the proposed terms, co-founders Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow would remain in charge, and the platform would operate as a standalone product within the Times Company, using its ad technology. Canadian holding company Tiny, which acquired a 60 percent stake in 2023 at a valuation of $50 to $60 million, would sell alongside the founders.

Letterboxd was not sold quietly. Investment bank LionTree ran the process, and interested parties included A24, Sony, Netflix, and an investor group led by Madison Wells CEO Gigi Pritzker, according to Variety. One competing bidder warned that other buyers could place parts of the service behind a paywall, per The Wrap. The Times prevailed. At the end of Q2 2026, Letterboxd's membership stood at 30.7 million, up 43 percent year over year, with the platform approaching 35 million users by October.

The acquisition would add Letterboxd to a New York Times Company portfolio that already includes The Athletic, Wirecutter, and Wordle. The Times has set a target of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027. What that subscriber strategy means for a free, community-built film platform is the question the deal leaves open.