Tiny’s search for a new owner of Letterboxd comes at a key moment: It’s poised to evolve from a niche community site into a potentially significant entertainment media player, should it opt to become one.

The site, founded in 2011 in New Zealand, operated for years as a passion project for diehard movie fans, who used it primarily to log, rate, and discuss movies. That changed in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic forced people inside and online, leading to a spike in streaming viewership — and a concurrent rise in discussion on Letterboxd. In just a few years, the company surged from around a million users in 2020 to more than 26 million users earlier this year, according to filings. The company has boasted that most of its users are young, between the ages of 18 and 34.

The growth caught the attention of Tiny, a Canadian holding company listed in Toronto that also owns the DJ software brand Serato and the coffee device maker AeroPress. In 2023, Tiny purchased 60% of the “Goodreads for movies,” valuing it at $50 million. The new owners promised to preserve Letterboxd’s quirky independence, keeping its original founders onboard while helping it expand.

Some Letterboxd users, who feared the new owner would commercialize the site, viewed the sale with suspicion. But over the last three years, the company has made few noticeable changes. Letterboxd beefed up its display advertising, and rolled out a streaming rental business for obscure or hard-to-find films.

Other previously announced initiatives remain unrealized. In its 2023 announcement, Tiny said Letterboxd would move into television reviews, a potential huge new pool of content, but the expansion remains largely unfinished.

Tiny now seems to see an opportunity to make a profit cashing out. While Tiny does not break out Letterboxd financials, in disclosures released earlier this month, the company cited the website as one of the major drivers of growth in its venture fund last year.