Letterboxd Opens Video Store, Turning Your Watchlist Into a Rental Shelf

Letterboxd is about to do more than track your movie obsessions. Early December, they are rolling out the Letterboxd Video Store, a built-in rental shop that promises actual curation instead of a giant pile of random licenses. No subscription to juggle, no platform paywall to climb — just pay to rent what you want and watch.

"We program these shelves using millions of watchlists, reviews and other secret sauce signals. It's like walking into your local video store and seeing the "employee picks" shelf - and those employees are countless Letterboxd members across the globe."

That pitch is unusually specific for a platform launch, and if they stick to it, it could be dangerous for all of our free time.

So what are we actually getting?

• Timing: The Letterboxd Video Store goes live in early December.
• How it works: It's pay-per-title rentals inside Letterboxd. No subscription sign-up, no extra paywall layer.
• The curation: Expect things people on Letterboxd actually want to watch — festival favorites that haven't landed distribution yet, hard-to-find titles that are constantly being watchlisted, fresh restorations, plus limited-time drops like sneak peeks and unreleased oddities.
• Windows: Because this is curated, some movies will only be around for a limited time. The store will flag what's expiring soon so you know what to prioritize.
• Devices at launch: Web, iOS, Android, Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast, and AirPlay. More Smart TV apps are in the works.
• Availability and price: What you can rent (and for how much) depends on where you live. Letterboxd says they're pushing to make titles available in as many countries as possible.
• Want to request a film? Make a Letterboxd list and tag it with #letterboxd-video-store so the team can review it.

The culture fit

Plenty of filmmakers already hang out on Letterboxd — everyone from Mike Flanagan to Francis Ford Coppola has embraced the platform. On the other end of the spectrum, John Carpenter famously asked, "What the hell is a Letterboxd!?," after fans started assuming he was secretly reviewing his own movies there. Fair question, honestly.

If Letterboxd really uses the taste data it's sitting on to surface the good, weird, and long-unavailable stuff, this might be the most useful new button on your home screen. I'm in. You?