Letterboxd, the cinephile social platform that’s become perhaps the most effective tool for independent film in a landscape where moviegoers are hard to reach, hit 17 million members in 2024.
That’s a big jump from 11.4 million at the end of 2023 and 1.8 million in 2020, according to the New Zealand-based platform’s 2024 Year In Review published today.
A new member joins Letterboxd every five seconds, it said of the hub for film fans to discover, discuss and share favorites. In 2024, those members wrote 96.4 million reviews, marked 701 million films watched, and made 6.8 million lists, a popular feature.
Perhaps most importantly, it’s a now a key driver of the indie box office with distributors frequently citing Letterboxd when opening a film theatrically. A24 gave a shout-out to the platform for the strong limited debut of Brady Corbet’s Golden Globe winning The Brutalist in December.
Letterboxd, launched in 2012 by Auckland tech entrepreneurs Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow, has expanded steadily but growth accelerated over the past five years as media shifted and moviegoing trends changed and it became super complicated and very expensive for producers and distributors, especially independents, to raise awareness of their films.
Letterboxd winning list includes dozens of indies and micro-budgets as well as big studio fare. Dune: Part 2 is the site’s highest-rated and most popular picture of 2024.
“I’m going to sleep well tonight,” Denis Villeneuve commented in the Year in Review announcement of his chart topping. “Frankly, what I love about that is it’s coming from people who don’t give a shit about me. They’re just talking about the movie, you know? Thank you everybody. It goes straight to my heart.”
Beyond Dune, Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here is the highest rated drama, and very indie Hundreds Of Beavers the top rated comedy. “We made this movie over four years with a lot of blood, sweat and frostbite,” the Beavers‘ team said. “We solemnly swear to revive dormant comedy genres until the wheels come off.”
The year end-review has winners in about 45 categories, including Most Watched First-Time Director — Arturo Perez Jr & Samathan Jayne; Most Anticipated Film of 2025 — Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17; Most Obsessively Rewatched — Dune: Part Two; Most Hearts to Views (highest ratio of likes to watches) — Iʼm Still Here’; Low Rated, Most Loved — Madame Web; Most Divisive — Aggro Dr1ft followed by Megalopolis.
Thai feature How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies by Pat Boonnitipat was the highest rated directorial debut. “Its far beyond my expectation,” he said. “As a filmmaker and also as a cinephile, growing up I always liked to watch movies from smaller countries and smaller film industries. It gave the feeling that everything is so new and so fresh.”
Willem Dafoe was the Most Watched Actor, starring in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Kinds of Kindness, Saturday Night and Nosferatu, which was the top horror of the year.
No Other Land claimed the Highest Rated Documentary and Highest Rated Documentary by a Woman Director (Rachel Szor). Will & Harper was the Most Popular Documentary, the Highest Rated Romance was Anora, and Oscar shortlisted anime Look Back achieved Highest Rated Animation.
The Substance was the Most Popular Film by a Woman Director, with helmer Coralie Fargeat noting, “Each time I connect to Letterboxd, I’m especially moved, given that Letterboxd are real cinema lovers. It’s a community that loves films, that really adores them, and to get this response from this community is for me so, so, so great.”
Zendaya was the Most Watched Actress for the second year running for sports love triangle drama Challengers, which scored Highest Rated Sports Film.
The highest-rated and most popular rankings are drawn from collective member activity and there are highlights based on popular reviews and lists and deep dives into poster and titles trends.
“We created Letterboxd to nurture a collective, global celebration of screen storytelling, and build connections between audiences and filmmakers—many of whom are also Letterboxd members, says co-founder and CEO Buchanan.
“The highest-rated and most popular films of 2024 span the gamut: blockbusters from Denis Villeneuves impressive Dune continuation through to France’s reclamation of its own classics [The Count Of Monte Cristo], to micro-budget DIY delights by new generational talent who are paving their own way in this ever-evolving industry. Our members also got a kick out of seeing familiar faces—including Hugh Grant, Demi Moore, Sebastian Stan and Pamela Anderson—moving into unfamiliar territory, in excellent mid-budget movies that pulled us into cinemas with smart marketing. 2024, as always, saw our members embrace countless classic films and underseen gems alongside new releases, devouring them at sold-out repertory screenings, on physical media and streamers. Were so happy to be introducing these older works of art to brand-new audiences year after year.”
In the spirit of awards season, here’s the full list of Letterboxd winners for 2024:
Highest Rated Film — Dune: Part Two
Most Popular Film — Dune: Part Two
Most Popular Documentary — Will & Harper
Highest Rated Documentary — No Other Land
Highest Rated Directorial Debut — How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies
Highest Rated Animation — Look Back
Highest Rated Action/Adventure — Dune: Part Two
Highest Rated Comedy — Hundreds of Beavers
Highest Rated Drama — I’m Still Here
Highest Rated Horror — Nosferatu
Highest Rated Romance — Anora
Highest Rated Science Fiction — Dune: Part Two
Highest Rated Sports — Challengers
Highest Rated Film by a Woman Director — Laapataa Ladies
Highest Rated Directorial Debut by a Woman Director — All We Imagine As Light
Highest Rated Documentary by a Woman Director — No Other Land
Most Popular Film by a Woman Director —The Substance
Highest Rated African Film — Flight 404, Egypt
Highest Rated Asian Film — How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, Thailand
Highest Rated European Film — The Count of Monte Cristo, France
Highest Rated North American Film — Dune: Part Two
Highest Rated Oceanian Film — Memoir of a Snail, Australia
Highest Rated South American Film — Iʼm Still Here, Brazil
Highest Rated Malayalam-language Film — Aattam, India
Highest Rated Live-Action Short — Coreys
Highest Rated Animated Short — Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin
Most Popular Limited Series — Baby Reindeer
Highest Rated Limited Series — Samuel
Highest Rated Documentary Series — DJ Mehdi: Made in France
Highest Rated Comedy Special — Stand Up Solutions
Highest Rated TV Special or Movie — One Piece Fan Letter
Highest Rated Music Documentary — Rm: Right People, Wrong Place
Highest Rated Concert Film — The Pop Out: Ken & Friends
Most Watched Actress — Zendaya
Most Watched Actor — Willem Dafoe