As Letterboxd Draws Interest From The New York Times, A24 And Others, One Of Its Bankers Calls It “A Phenomenon”

With Letterboxd acquisition talks heating up, dealmakers today touted the company as “a phenomenon” and a key to the 2026 box office revival. Deadline has confirmed that The New York Times and A24 have put in second-round bids for the film centric, hugely popular social media site founded by a duo of New Zealand tech entrepreneurs in 2011. The NYT itself was the first to report interest by its own parent company and A24, as well as Netflix, Paramount and Sony. Canadian private equity firm Tiny is selling its 60% stake in Letterboxd, which it acquired four years ago in a deal that valued the company at $60 million. Tiny anticipates a hefty return on its investment, valuing the site at over $300 million. Letterboxd founders Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow continue to hold an minority stake and a say in where platform ultimately lands. Tiny hired boutique investment bank LionTree to oversee the sale process. Watch on Deadline Alex Michael, a LionTree senior managing director, raved about Letterboxd at a Financial Times conference in L.A. Thursday as news of the bidding hit, calling it “a phenomenon.” He compared it with Fandango or Rotten Tomatoes (Letterboxd faithful might beg to differ) but agreed it was “a little different,” drawing movie fans to other fan reviews and to discover new content. Letterboxd attracts 30 million monthly users “with zero paid marketing,” he added. “What I think is most interesting and relevant to this conversation is that the biggest cohort, the biggest user group, is ages 18 to 24,” Michael said during a conversation about the 2026 box office revival. “If younger audiences … are actually consuming and engaged, then maybe this can last.” Aaron Sobel, private equity partner at Apollo Global Management, followed with a stat that 20% of 18 to 34-year olds have gone to a movie over the past two weeks, a period with overperforming, wide-release audience draws like Resident Evil and specialty breakouts like Buddy. “That’s an incredible statistic,” he said. “Obviously, that percentage declines as people get older, but it’s certainly supportive of what you’re saying” about young skewing Letterboxd. Versant Media, which owns Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, kicked the tires at Letterboxd earlier this year but took itself out of the running, Deadline hears. A24 declined to comment. The New York Times said the company “regularly reviews potential investments, and it’s our policy not to comment on speculation about potential acquisitions or divestitures.” There’s another bidder in the mix as well called Intrinsic, a new social benefit corporation launched by Elizabeth Joyce that started its campaign with support from indie film stalwart Ted Hope and a crowdfunding campaign. It sounds simpatico with the grass-roots DNA Letterboxd but hasn’t been getting much traction.