A24, Sony and New York Times Circle Letterboxd in $300M Bidding War

A sale process for Letterboxd, the New Zealand-founded film social network, has attracted interest from suitors including A24, Sony Pictures and The New York Times Company, and reports dated Sept 24, 2026 indicate any agreement could put the platform's worth above $300 million.¹²³⁶

From Auckland startup to global network

Letterboxd was founded in 2011 by New Zealand entrepreneurs Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow. In 2023, Tiny, described in reports as a Canadian holding company, acquired a 60% stake in the platform in a deal that valued it at between $50 million and $60 million, with Buchanan and von Randow retaining the remaining 40%.¹²³⁴

Letterboxd says it has more than 30 million members worldwide, a figure disputed by The Hollywood Reporter. The Playlist reported that Tiny disclosed 30.7 million members as of the close of this year's second quarter, a 43% increase from a year earlier. The company employs 40 people across New Zealand, the United States, Canada and Britain, and has expanded into a video-rental service for hard-to-find independent films.¹³⁶⁷

Bidders line up

Tiny has hired the boutique investment bank LionTree to run the sale process. According to Deadline, The New York Times and A24 have submitted second-round bids. Multiple reports indicate that Sony, Netflix, Paramount, private-equity groups TPG and RedBird Capital, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian each held preliminary discussions earlier in the process.⁵¹³⁶

Deadline reports that Versant Media pulled out of contention earlier this year. A separate, non-profit-style bid has come from Intrinsic, a social benefit corporation led by Elizabeth Joyce, whose supporters include indie-film figure Ted Hope.⁵⁶⁷

Numbers behind the deal

Bidding is reported to have opened around $300 million, according to multiple outlets. That is up from roughly $250 million floated by Letterboxd's bankers in July, per The Playlist. Several outlets describe the figure as about 20 times Letterboxd's projected 2026 earnings of approximately $15 million, though one report frames the multiple as tied to projected revenue rather than earnings.¹²³⁴

Voices in the deal

LionTree senior managing director Alex Michael, speaking at a Financial Times conference in Los Angeles, called Letterboxd "a phenomenon," according to Deadline. He said the platform's core audience skews young: "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." Apollo Global Management partner Aaron Sobel responded that youth engagement supported the case for the company's staying power.⁵

The New York Times, represented by spokesperson Katie Hill, stated that the company "regularly reviews potential investments, and it's our policy not to comment on speculation about potential acquisitions or divestitures." A Letterboxd representative offered a similar response: "As Letterboxd has grown, it's natural there will be interest in what we do next. There's nothing specific for us to share at this time. Any decision about Letterboxd's future would involve the founders."¹²⁵