How Letterboxd went mainstream

In 2020, Letterboxd’s highest-rated film was Lee Isaac Chung’s quiet indie Minari, which made a mere $15.5 million globally. Four years later, Denis Villeneuve’s $714.4 million-making juggernaut Dune: Part Two tops the charts. 

These changing tastes could represent a broader shift in Letterboxd’s core user base. The app underwent a seismic growth period over the past four years. In mid-2020, Letterboxd touted 1.8 million members; that number is now over 17 million, with some six million members joining within the last year. Letterboxd was once a watering hole for film nerds and Tarantino-loving bros. They’re still on the app—but so are millions more. 

Letterboxd has officially stepped out of its niche, community-specific status. In short: It’s gone mainstream. 

Letterboxd’s journey from specialty to widespread

At its core, Letterboxd is a movie tracking app. Users log the films they’ve seen, give them star ratings, and often write reviews. But tentpole features and campaigns have quickly expanded the brand beyond those looking for a Goodreads of movies. Quirky lists abound, some public reviewers have attained micro-celebrity status, and their “Four Favorites” series is now a red carpet staple on TikTok. 

Over email, Fast Company asked Letterboxd editor-in-chief Gemma Gracewood whether Letterboxd had gone mainstream. “If ‘mainstream’ means that Letterboxd is a completely normal part of many people’s lives, whether to quickly check a film’s rating or to obsessively keep an annual record of their journey through cinema, then we’ll take it,” she responded. 

Gracewood agreed that their user demographic extended far beyond those original power users. Not all (or even most) Letterboxd members are passionately reviewing films and making lists. Many simply use the app as a recommendation platform, seeing what their friends or favorite accounts have enjoyed. While long-form media like movies may be thought of as an old-soul medium, Letterboxd’s user base also skews young. In fact, 66% of respondents to a May survey were aged 34 and below. 

Letterboxd’s demographics have also made the platform especially appetizing to film studios and distributors. In that same survey, 85% of respondents reported seeing one or more films in cinemas in the past month; 89% subscribed to two or more streaming services. More and more Letterboxd reviews are popping up in film marketing materials. 

“It’s exciting to hear from indie distributors and art house cinemas that Letterboxd is a driving factor in 18-35 year olds flocking to repertory screenings and collecting physical media,” Gracewood wrote. 

Letterboxd is now common enough to have wormed its way up to the celebrity class. Nicole Kidman, on the red carpet for her film Babygirl, looked surprised and confused when a journalist from the popular X outlet Pop Crave approached her. When Letterboxd came up, ">her reaction was different: “Letterboxd! We love Letterboxd.” 

Letterboxd’s growing pains

Reaching a broader audience also has its downsides. Once a bastion of unique taste, Letterboxd users have increasingly fallen for blockbusters. The platform’s top five films since 2020 include two Best Picture winners (Everything Everywhere All At Once and Oppenheimer), and three major IP plays (Barbie, Dune, and The Batman). Sure, the platform still has its fair share of Criterion Collection subscribers and DVD collectors, but some have been drowned out. 

Letterboxd has also lost much of its privacy with its size. Sleuths have unearthed Charli XCX’s account, and think they’ve found Margot Robbie’s, too. Ayo Edebiri used to be a frequent reviewer, but went quiet around the same time that X users reposted her questioning review of Saltburn. 

Asked what has been challenging about the growth, Gracewood pointed to scale. “More members means more community support, management and moderation, which we’re dedicated to, long-term,” she wrote. 

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