Emerald City Video

Letterboxd, the social media site that allows movie fans to share their watchlist and reviews, is launching their own digital “video store,” and doing so in a way that leans into the traditional video store experience rather than just making it another digital storefront.

Their sell, according to Gizmodo, is that Letterboxd is setting up a new rental interface, which will allow users to rent and watch movies directly within Letterboxd. A key aspect of the experience, though, is the way they hope to use your past watches and reviews to customize the experience.

For years, we old video store veterans have been saying that most algorithms are incredibly bad at replicating the experience of the video store. Employees who know you, remember what you like, and have had conversations with you are virtually impossible to meaningfully replace. That is, though, what Letterboxd is going for. What’s interesting about it is that since other algorithms are unapologetically working for the platform, there’s an argument that an algorithm meant to serve the consumer a bit more could be a meaningful step in the right direction.

Categories including “festival standouts,” “long-watchlisted titles,” “restorations and rediscoveries,” and “limited-time drops” will ideally simulate the experience of a family-owned store. One assumes the idea is that by spotlighting movies that are a little more niche and unlikely to be promoted on Netflix and Apple, they’ll be recreating the “cult” and “great directors” and other similar sections seen at mom & pop shops during the heyday of home video.

Letterboxd is also interesting in that its movie database is very broad. It will be interesting to see whether they might integrate YouTube embeds into their rental structure, since I have definitely seen feature-length YouTube videos (and things like the Arrowverse event “movies”) included on the platform before.

Alternately, it’s possible they will have to tighten up their definition of a “movie” to accommodate their new commercial needs. After all, while I have definitely logged and rated the kinds of niche things I just referenced…I wasn’t able to go to find them for evidence, suggesting they have since been removed from the platform.

If so, that’s a shame. Some of the best remaining video stores have oddities, made-for-TV movies, and other things that are impossible to stream legally. Those movies remain a key part of our shared cinematic history, even if they aren’t financially viable in 2025, and I would argue that their role in culture is being carried on by the best of YouTube.

Per the Gizmodo report, the Letterboxd rental service will launch with iOS, Android, Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast, and AirPlay compatibility soon.