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Now Showing: cinema showtimes come to Patron , with a wider launch on Christmas Eve

Gemma Gracewood
Showtimes for theaters including London’s Prince Charles Cinema are now in beta for Patrons. — Credit… Prince Charles Cinema
Showtimes for theaters including London’s Prince Charles Cinema are now in beta for Patrons. Credit… Prince Charles Cinema

Letterboxd Patrons can now enjoy our new cinema showtimes feature, which ships to all —in select regions, with more to come—on Christmas Eve. 

Happy Chrismukwanzakah, film friends! Just in time for the peak holiday movie season, we’re bringing cinema showtimes to Letterboxd. To celebrate, we’ve asked filmmakers, stars and festival programmers alike to share their favorite spots in the cinema. Whether extreme front, middle-middle or far-left in the back row, it’s clear that everyone just loves a movie theater, and our new feature celebrates this fact by making showtimes available directly from a film’s Letterboxd page. 



From today, as a beta perk, Patron in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand now have the ability to discover where films are currently playing in cinemas near them. The feature will roll out to all in those regions on Christmas Eve, with more regions beyond the initial five to come in the future, along with fuller integration (including notifications). 

Created in collaboration with aggregator Assemble, the new showtimes feature provides access to real-time information about film screenings over the coming seven days. In the US alone, Assemble indexes approximately 9,000 screens, with cinemas encouraged to opt in to share their showtimes, whether they be repertory screenings at art house cinemas, or new multiplex releases. (We love ’em all.)

Last week’s showtimes in the LA area for The Boy and the Heron, as seen on Letterboxd.
Last week’s showtimes in the LA area for The Boy and the Heron, as seen on Letterboxd.



We’ve run the new feature by some beloved theater friends, with The Brattle’s The Brattle ecosystem of discovery. Like all our art house friends, we exist to help cinema lovers discover great films and see them in the best formats possible. So having showtimes right there on a film’s Letterboxd page is huge for us.” (This is the same Brattle where Talking Heads’ guitarist Jerry Harrison first saw Closely Observed Trains, as revealed to us in his four favorites.) 

Along with our JustWatch integration for streaming and on-demand services introduced in 2019, and especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s a natural and essential progression for us to offer showtimes to our community. After all, our own research shows that you go to movie theaters far more often than the average US adult, and we want these sacred movie houses to survive, and thrive. Cinema! 

Read on for the FAQ. 

How do I see showtimes"> Patron.

I’m a Patron. Why can’t I see showtimes near me? 
The feature is available to in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand, with more regions to come. Showtime links only appear on the pages of films that have screenings scheduled in the next week. 

When will showtimes be available in my country?
We intend to introduce new regions as the data becomes available via our partner. We do not have a schedule for this yet. 

Why is my favorite local theater not showing any listings for this week, even though I know they have session times? 
Assemble indexes the majority of cinemas in each launch region, but perhaps not all. Eligible cinema owners whose listings don’t appear are encouraged to send their website URL to Assemble. Ask your local cinema to get in touch with the Letterboxd help desk for further information.

Why can’t I see what’s showing the week after next? 
At this time, we provide seven days’ worth of listings. In the future, we may consider longer-lead showtimes as well.

I can only see five cinemas listed near me, but I know there are more.
For best performance, we show what we believe are the five cinemas nearest your location. You can use the search field in the modal widget to adjust your location and see more results.

We’re a cinema with a Letterboxd HQ—will you add our showtimes directly to our HQ page?
That’s something we’re looking at, yes.

When can I get notifications that a film on my watchlist is screening near me, and/or filter my watchlist by what’s screening in cinemas">fantastic pitch. Rest assured we’re working on fuller integration for future updates, including notifications.

Can I follow my local cinema on Letterboxd">grab an HQ if they don’t already have one).

A previous version of this story erroneously included Ireland in the list of ed regions for the showtimes feature. Showtimes are available for Northern Ireland only. We regret the error and have amended the story accordingly.

Gemma Gracewood

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