Letterboxd, the online social cataloging movie service that publicly launched in 2013, is about to become more than a fan board. The operation, said to have more than 24 million worldwide members, has launched The Letterboxd Video Store for online movie rentals. Available in 23 countries, the new service focuses on rare and unusual films, curating them on “shelves.” One shelf, Unreleased Gems, features “discoveries that select audiences have been raving about, but most of us haven’t had the opportunity to watch until now,” the company says. The Gems are available exclusively from the Letterboxd Video Store in designated countries.

“Regions and prices vary by title,” Letterboxd explains in an announcement that lists the inaugural films and where each one will be available for a limited window that ends January 9, “so set your watchlists accordingly.”

The library shelves “are built from what our members are actually hunting down,” including festival standouts that have not yet found distribution, watchlisted titles that have finally become available, restorations and “limited drop” sneak peeks.

“We program these shelves using millions of watchlists, reviews and other secret sauce signals,” Letterboxd said last month in a blog post. “It’s like walking into your local video store and seeing the “employee picks” shelf — and those employees are countless Letterboxd members across the globe.”

“The selections span films from nine countries, including Todd Haynes’ controversial 1991 sci-fi horror directorial debut ‘Poison’ and Indian neo-noir thriller ‘Kennedy,’ which has been unavailable since its 2023 Cannes Film Festival debut,” reports Variety, noting that “new films are slated to drop regularly in the store, starting with fresh additions before the end of 2025.”

“In the U.S., the Letterboxd Video Store launch films will cost $3.99 to $19.99 to rent,” explains Variety. “As with other digital video rental services, you have a 48-hour period to watch a title once you’ve started playing it.”

The Wrap calls Letterboxd’s Video Store strategy “a transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) model with no subscription requirement.”

Letterboxd CEO and co-founder Matthew Buchanan says in The Wrap the operation takes direction from its community of members: “They tell us what’s really happening — a 1980s action film suddenly trending, a festival title from two years ago still being added to watchlists.”

The Letterboxd Video Store is available on Apple TV 4K, iOS, Android, online, and TV via Chromecast and AirPlay, with additional smart TV apps in the works, according to the company.