There was a time when Rotten Tomatoes was actually kind of helpful. A time before audience reviews, troll campaigns, and weighted scores that mean a five out of 10 can be both Fresh and Rotten. It was a time before it was gobbled up by IGN, once a subsidiary of the Fox Corporation, and later swallowed by Comcast—now Versant after Comcast cut its non-streaming entities loose for not providing shareholders with the growth they deserve. The result was a platform that’s more favorable to studios than the quality of their work, where scores grow steadily higher every year and supposed audiences can quality-wash Melania.
It all points to a conflict of interest between the platform and the entities it’s supposed to view with caution at best and objectivity at worst. Another site might be repeating Rotten Tomatoes’ absorption into corporate America’s reality distortion field. According to a new report from Puck, Letterboxd, the social media site devoted entirely to audience scores, is on the market for a buyer. Among those participating in initial discussions—and the report’s author, Matthew Beloni, stressed that these are initial talks—are the types of corporate nation-states that would benefit from strong word of mouth: Studios. Puck reports that Netflix, Sony Pictures, and Paramount joined Letterboxd’s “meet and greets.” Of course, there’s also the typical private equity interest from RedBirdCapital, which has been partially financing the Ellison Hollywood buy-up through its stake in Paramount Skydance. But don’t count Rotten Tomatoes out. In April, Semafor noted that Versant is interested, less than a year after launching Rotten Tomatoes’ Letterboxd clone.
Letterboxd exploded in popularity during the pandemic, growing to more than 26 million users and creating a clear pathway for marketers to talk to theatergoers. Letterboxd’s marketing apparatus, with its “Four Favorites” videos, has become a staple of press tours for movies big and small. Not to mention its consensus-building abilities that could be easily finessed should its owners wish. The company was purchased by the Canadian holding company Tiny in 2023, taking a 60% stake in the platform. Belloni reports that it could hit a $250 million valuation, a high price, he comments, for a site that doesn’t generate much revenue, which has never stopped anyone before.
Keep scrolling for more great stories.