Tales from the Lab: Letterboxd

David Larkin of Letterboxd made a visit to the Lab in April spoke about the powerful audience engagement tool. Plus another lab film takes an innovative path to its premiere tonight.

Somehow it's a lot about the Distribution Lab this week. In the Lab we regularly bring in leading industry figures to give their wisdom about key aspects of engaging audiences. In a dynamic conversation with David Larkin, Head of Business at Letterboxd, we explored how filmmakers can use the platform to engage directly with audiences and promote their work. Welcome to Tales from the Lab, let’s dive in! But first - another lab film premieres tonight - and the producer Sean Drummond actually helps me construct these Substack posts - so a bit of an extra shout out (and then at the very bottom you can still register for our free live case study next week).

As part of the 8 Above Distribution Lab, filmmakers Chelsea Bo (writer/director) and Sean Drummond (producer) will release No Right Way through a limited PVOD release on Eventive. The premiere will begin on May 23rd at 5:30pm PT, followed by a live Q&A with the cast and crew at 7:15pm PT. The film will be available online for one week only.

Since its premiere in 2023, No Right Way has screened at 19 festivals, won 16 awards, and had a week of sold-out screenings at the Laemmle Royal.

Chelsea and Sean joined the 8 Above Distribution Lab to plan the next phase of their film's digital release. Drawing on the audience relationships they've built, they are now applying new strategies with a limited one-week screening window and live Q&A.

Tickets are $20 – use the code 8ABOVE (case sensitive) for 20% off!

Details:

🎟️ Pre-order No Right Way on Eventive HERE

📅 Stream begins May 23rd at 5:30pm PT

🎤 Live Q&A at 7:15pm PT on May 23rd

Available for one week only.

Now back to:

Letterboxd: The Social Network for Film Buffs: A Hub for Cinephiles and Indie Film Discovery

Larkin opened the conversation by reflecting on how Letterboxd has evolved beyond being a simple film tracker. What began 15 years ago as a side project in New Zealand has now grown into a thriving community of over 20 million active users (up from just 1.8 million in 2020), with a particularly strong presence of passionate film lovers who seek out indie films.

This massive growth reflects a large audience for cinema of all kinds, with Letterboxd quickly becoming a central hub for movie discovery. As Larkin pointed out, the platform doesn’t merely serve the purpose of answering "What should I watch tonight?" Instead, it provides an experience where users engage with films on a deeper level, creating lists, writing reviews, and interacting with one another in meaningful ways. For filmmakers, this presents a unique opportunity to not only showcase their work but to enter a conversation with an engaged audience that genuinely cares about cinema. In this sense, Letterboxd isn't just a tool for pushing films; it’s about becoming part of a passionate community.

Letterboxd is also helping to guide audiences, especially younger audiences to discover films, wherever those films are being shown, with a high proportion getting out and seeing movies in theaters:

“What I think is so interesting about that is that it's tapping into this yearning among these young people to connect over a shared love of something.. They want to discover film and more than the average person, they want to see it in a movie theater. Part of what we do, is surface those films that they want to see and drive our audiences to them..” David Larkin

A Game Changer for Filmmakers: Real-Time Audience Insights

Larkin shared how Letterboxd is already being used at sales oriented festivals. He recalled how distributors at Sundance were tracking audience sentiment through Letterboxd as soon as the credits rolled at world premieres. This immediate feedback loop—where reactions are tracked within minutes—provides invaluable data for filmmakers, distributors, and sales agents to gauge how their films are being received, helping to inform their next steps. So in addition to collecting emails and audience sentiment at your festivals screenings - it makes sense to encourage your audience to rate and review your film on Letterboxd.Those who level up to Pro or Patron membership, get access to other features such as Stats for Lists, providing deeper insight into how audiences are reacting to their films.

Larkin also highlighted how Letterboxd has become an effective exceptional marketing platform. Filmmakers can use the platform’s ad system to target specific users based on their film tastes. As he explained, for a modest ad spend fcan reach thousands of targeted users via email campaigns. These campaigns are hyper-targeted, focusing not on broad demographics but on people who are already watching films similar to the filmmaker’s. For instance, you can target highly specific niche audiences in a specific market. This specificity makes Letterboxd an ideal platform for indie filmmakers looking to maximize their marketing budget.

What makes Letterboxd even more accessible for indie filmmakers is that it’s easy to get started. By contributing reviews, writing thoughtful posts, or sharing lists, filmmakers can begin building a presence on the platform. And since it's about the love of film - it's a social media platform that even the most social media allergic filmmaker can embrace.

The Letterboxd "HQ" Account: A Tool for Studios, Distributors, and Large Organizations

The conversation shifted to Letterboxd’s “HQ” accounts, a premium tier designed for organizations—like studios, distributors, and festivals—that need to engage on the platform frequently. These accounts, which cost $499 per year ($299 outside the US), come with robust tools like the ability to post stories, share external links, add custom backdrops to profiles, and pin lists at the top of their pages. HQ accounts also offer more powerful analytics, allowing organizations to track impressions and engagement across their content.

However, as Larkin pointed out, HQ accounts are really best suited for organizations such as distributors that can consistently post content on the platform. For filmmakers who don’t plan to engage with the community on a weekly basis, these accounts might not be the best fit. Instead, Larkin emphasized that successful filmmakers don’t need to invest in expensive services. What truly matters is authentic engagement with the Letterboxd community—whether through reviews, creating lists, or simply participating in ongoing conversations. Authenticity, not premium features, is what leads to lasting impact on Letterboxd. (Like all good social media engagement.)

But there are other uses of Letterboxd such as directors making lists of films that everyone on the crew of their new film should watch or at the distribution stage when developing marketing materials, creating a list of comparable films to yours, to see what kinds of posters have been used in the past to target the audience you are going after.

The Future of Letterboxd and Its Role in Indie Film Marketing

As we wrapped up the conversation, Larkin shared plans for the future of Letterboxd, including expanding their activities in Brazil and Europe, where the Letterboxd audience continues to grow rapidly. Additionally, they’re continuing to innovate with features such as adding episodic shows to the platform, so Letterboxd serves as both a film and television discovery platform.

For indie filmmakers, Letterboxd is more than just a place to log films or read reviews—it’s an audience engagement and marketing ecosystem designed for people who love film - which of course includes filmmakers. The platform allows you to track how your film is being received in real time, discover audiences for your films and engage them.

That ecosystem includes the platform itself, tools like EDM’s to reach its members, Letterboxd’s strong social media presence—which houses the now-iconic Letterboxd Four Favorites—and Journal, its dedicated editorial arm spotlighting the people and stories behind the films.

Letterboxd Announces Curated Online Film Rental Store

I’ve eagerly anticipated this recent announcement made a Cannes - as the kind of smart private ventures that can make significant difference in our ecosystem. A company, Letterboxd, creating a smart convivial social platform that cultivates a super passionate niche audience of film fans and then provides an additional service, TVOD/rentals, for filmmakers to gain new audiences and earn revenue. From their press release:

Launching later in 2025, the Letterboxd Video Store will offer themed shelves of films available for rental, including festival favorites, underseen gems, global cinema, and emerging voices—available on demand or within limited festival-style windows. Letterboxd is also exploring opportunities to spotlight films that haven’t yet secured widespread distribution, creating a potential new path to audience connection for filmmakers and sales agents seeking visibility and momentum.

I am excited that most of the companies in our New Platforms webinar are also developing data driven direct to consumer rental platforms and Letterboxd is a welcome addition to this. But in this case Letterboxd developed the devoted fan base first. Discovery is one of the most difficult aspect of our new film landscape and Letterboxd has unlocked a powerful tool for audiences to find and connect with films.

Rights holders can reach out to videostore (at) letterboxd.com

To learn more about the 8 Above Distribution Lab, click here:

Sign up for next week’s live case study:

Over 200 people have already signed up. Join filmmaker Sharon “Rocky” Roggio and 8 Above’s Jon Reiss for an in-depth case study on audience building before your release.

We’ll explore how Rocky brought her award-winning doc 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture to life—and to audiences worldwide—by treating audience-building as essential as pre-production, production, and post.

Whether you’re a first-time filmmaker or a seasoned producer looking for new approaches to audience development, this session offers a transparent look at the potential of leading with impact, purpose, and community.

Date: Thursday, 29th May 2025 @2pm ET/11am PT

Cost: Free