The New York Times Company is in exclusive talks to acquire Letterboxd for roughly $330 million, according to a report by The New York Times. "No agreement has been reached, and negotiations could still fall apart," the Times reported.
The price implies a valuation of approximately 22 times the platform's projected 2026 EBITDA of $15 million. Letterboxd counted more than 30.7 million members at the end of Q2 2026, up 43 percent year over year, and was nearing 35 million by October.
Co-founders Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow would remain in charge under the proposed terms. Letterboxd would operate as a standalone platform and draw on the Times' advertising technology. The arrangement mirrors the Times' approach with The Athletic, Wirecutter, and Wordle: acquire a destination with an established audience, keep the product mostly intact.
Investment bank LionTree ran the sale process. Competing bidders included A24, Sony, Netflix, and an investor group led by Madison Wells CEO Gigi Pritzker. Canadian holding company Tiny, which acquired a 60 percent stake in Letterboxd in 2023 at a valuation between $50 million and $60 million, would exit at a significant multiple.
The Times has set a target of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027. A film community of 35 million active members offers something different from news: behavioral data, taste signals, and an audience that already shows up for cinema.