Service Disruption Leaves Cinephiles Locked Out
On Sunday morning, the film-centric social media platform Letterboxd suffered a major technical failure, resulting in users being unable to access their accounts. Those attempting to use the mobile application were met with a persistent login loop, where the app would attempt to authenticate before returning users to the sign-in screen. Similarly, visitors attempting to access the platform via web browsers encountered an error notification stating, «An error occurred. Please try again later.»
Outage Reports and Official Response
According to data from DownDetector, the incident commenced at approximately 6 a.m. PT. By the time reports began flooding in, over 1,000 users had documented connectivity issues. The platform's technical team acknowledged the situation shortly after via Instagram, stating: «Hang in there. Our team is aware of an outage affecting service and is working to restore access as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience and support.»
Platform Growth and Industry Interest
Letterboxd, which is based in Auckland, New Zealand, has seen a massive surge in its user base, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. As of June, the service reached a milestone of 30 million global users, having grown by 10 million in 2025 alone.
The platform’s rising influence has also drawn attention from major media entities. Reports from earlier in July indicated that the company is exploring potential acquisition interest. Potential suitors reportedly include:
- Netflix
- Sony Pictures
- Paramount Skydance
- TPG (private equity firm)
- Alexis Ohanian (Reddit co-founder)
Regarding these acquisition reports, a company representative noted: «As Letterboxd has grown, it's natural there will be interest in what we do next. There's nothing specific for us to at this time. Any decision about Letterboxd's future would involve the founders.»