Good news for movie buffs everywhere. Popular movie reviewing and discussion forum Letterboxd is working on a movie rental platform, joining a long list of media-adjacent businesses trying their hand at the streaming game. The social media site announced the initiative at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, believing it can leverage its audience to start providing them the indie movies they love in one place.
Letterboxd targeting the girls with a dragon tattoo
Letterboxd is essentially Facebook for cinephiles. Users discuss and rate movies, and it has become a trusted source on movies for that insufferable person in your life. Its upcoming Letterboxd Video Store transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) service will likely be replete with underappreciated movies, showcases of up-and-coming filmmakers, playlists for certain film festivals, and other curated content for cinephiles.
This concept may sound quite familiar to many movie lovers, and that’s because it’s rather similar to Mubi. Mubi was created as a one-stop streaming shop for film buffs who wanted access to obscure films that are difficult to find both through large streaming platforms and piracy. Mubi’s format shows movies for a short period, usually about two weeks to a month, before cycling to another batch of lesser-known indie flicks.
“Every day, we see members recommending films to each other, adding to their watchlists and hungry to discover more,” said Letterboxd CEO Matthew Buchanan. “Letterboxd Video Store is our way of delivering for those film lovers, creating a dedicated space for films that deserve an audience.”
With no potential launch dates or pricing, details about the Letterboxd Video Store are still quite meagre. It’s unclear if the platform will be purely for renting out individual movies for a price, or if it’ll include monthly subscription options as well. Based on its transition from social media to video rental, there’s no doubt it’ll chase the growth demon into full monthly streaming should that prove lucrative, too.
