How Letterboxd’s Video Store Became a Lifeline for Unreleased Indie Films Like 'It Ends'

When It Ends premiered at South by Southwest (SXSW) in March 2025, the debut feature written, directed, and edited by Alexander Ullom received rave reviews. Yet, despite the acclaim, the film failed to secure a distribution deal. That changed when it appeared on the Letterboxd Video Store, a digital rental service embedded within the New Zealand-based film platform Letterboxd.

“We saw It Ends bubbling up in the community, and the team on Journal [Letterboxd’s online magazine] had it as one of their crew picks at SXSW when it premiered there,” said Courtney Mayhew, head of programming and content for the Video Store. “It’s important to give kudos to the community first because they’re the ones that started that bubbling up. It wasn’t us.”

Eight days after landing on the Letterboxd Video Store, Neon acquired It Ends for worldwide distribution in 2026. The platform’s success with Ullom’s film also caught the attention of Neon, which preemptively acquired his sophomore feature, 4×4: The Event.

“We’re excited by It Ends and the journey it’s had on the Video Store,” said George Linehan-Mitchell, head of strategy at Letterboxd. “We hope for that for more of our films.”

Letterboxd’s Rising Influence in Indie Film Distribution

The breakthrough of It Ends underscores the growing role of Letterboxd—a platform with over 28 million members who share and review films—as a key player in indie film distribution. Often described as “Goodreads for movies,” Letterboxd has expanded beyond its original community-driven model to include the Video Store, a service that rents digital copies of films for $4 to $20.

The Video Store launched in December 2024 and has quickly become a haven for indie films that fail to secure traditional distribution deals. This is particularly critical at a time when smaller distributors are struggling and major studios are reducing their investments in independent cinema.

How the Letterboxd Video Store Works

Films on the Letterboxd Video Store are priced similarly to other digital rental services. For unreleased or hard-to-distribute films like It Ends, which lack outside distribution, the rental price often aligns with premium video-on-demand (PVOD) standards, capping at $20. Customers can rent films for up to 30 days, though the viewing window shrinks to 48 hours once playback begins.

Questions About Letterboxd’s Future

Despite its rapid growth, Letterboxd faces scrutiny over its long-term prospects. On Sunday, Semafor reported that Tiny, the Canada-based controlling investor in Letterboxd, is exploring the sale of its 60% stake in the company. Tiny acquired its stake in 2023 at a $50 million valuation, funded jointly by the public company and its venture arm.

Since then, Letterboxd has expanded significantly, but insiders suggest Tiny may be considering a sale to reduce its debt burden. A Letterboxd spokesperson addressed the speculation: “As Letterboxd has grown, it’s natural there will be interest in what we do next. There’s nothing specific for us to share at this time. Any decision about Letterboxd’s future would involve the founders.”

The company generates revenue through a mix of paid subscriptions, advertising from film studios, and affiliate partnerships with streaming services. Its Video Store represents a strategic shift toward a quasi-distribution model, filling a gap left by traditional distributors.