The movie-review app, Letterboxd, has seen a surge in popularity over the course of the last year. 

The app was created in 2011 by web designers Matthew Buchanan and Karl Von Randow. The two wanted to create a more social form of IMDB, catering solely to movielovers. Although Letterboxd has had a steady amount of users throughout the years, the app did not become popular until this past year. 

However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought more attention to the app, creating an influx of new users. As businesses shut down, the masses turned to streaming services like HBO Max and Disney Plus for entertainment. This led to an increase of people finding a new love for film, bringing them to Letterboxd. 

Letterboxd offers a variety of features with a step-by-step tutorial on how to navigate  the app. Each user makes a profile that displays the films they’ve seen along with a watchlist that keeps a file of movies for future reference. With over 500,000 films listed, users can like and dislike certain movies that are then publicly displayed to the user’s followers. 

 “The app is a great way to organize your film repertoire and share with others your movie knowledge,” said sophomore Eamon Lynch. “Unlike Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB, Letterboxd is somewhere people can voice their opinions without having to be serious about it.” 

Another popular feature is the review section. Recently, people have been posting and responding to funny reviews left by other users, which has generated a lot of publicity for the platform. The ratings provide a new look into the movie that one might not have thought of before opening Letterboxd.   

Letterboxd adds new movies every week and are shown on the home screen.