FAQ
Straight answers to common questions about coverage, matching, and why cinema data can be a bit messy in the real world.
What does Cineboxd do?
Cineboxd cross-references your Letterboxd watchlist (or a CSV export) against upcoming London cinema screenings, so you can see what you already want to watch that's playing soon.
Where does the screening data come from?
Listings are collected from cinema websites (mostly via web scraping). That means the data can occasionally be incomplete, delayed, or wrong if a venue changes their site or a listing is updated.
Should I trust the screening times here?
Treat Cineboxd as a discovery tool, not the final authority. Always click through and confirm on the venue's site before booking, especially for one-off events and late programme updates.
Why is a film I know is showing not appearing?
Common reasons:
- The venue's site changed and the scraper is temporarily broken.
- The film title on the venue site differs (punctuation, subtitles, alternate titles).
- Your watchlist entry and the listing don't match closely enough.
- The listing is very new and hasn't been picked up by the latest refresh yet.
If it still looks wrong, send the details to support@cineboxd.com.
Why are there duplicates or slightly odd title matches?
Matching is fuzzy by design. Cinemas don't share a universal title ID, so Cineboxd uses approximate title matching and (when available) TMDB metadata. Sometimes that produces near-duplicates or false positives, especially for films with common titles, re-releases, or alternate spellings.
Does my Letterboxd watchlist need to be public?
Yes. Cineboxd reads the watchlist via Letterboxd's RSS feed. If your profile or watchlist is private, Cineboxd can't fetch it.
How does "Watch together" work?
You can enter 2-5 Letterboxd usernames and Cineboxd computes the intersection (and/or overlap) of watchlists, then shows screenings of films you all (or most of you) want to watch.
What's the CSV upload mode for?
If you don't want to use a username lookup (or your watchlist is private), you can upload a Letterboxd CSV export. Cineboxd will use that file to match screenings instead.
Why do CSV share links expire?
For privacy and practicality: uploaded data is stored temporarily and share links are time-limited. If you need a longer-lived link, prefer username-based mode.
How does "Near me" work, and what data do you store?
If you enter a UK postcode, Cineboxd converts it into a latitude/longitude (via a postcode lookup) and sorts venues by distance (haversine). Store only what's necessary to provide the feature (for example postcode and distance settings in local storage) and keep it clear in the Privacy page.
Which venues are supported?
See the Supported venues page for the current list. Coverage changes over time as scrapers are added, improved, or temporarily disabled when broken.
Can you add a cinema?
Yes. Use the Suggest a cinema form and include the cinema name plus a link to their listings page. If you prefer email, contact support@cineboxd.com.
Why are some posters/metadata missing or incorrect?
Metadata comes from TMDB where possible. If TMDB doesn't have a clean match (or a title and year is ambiguous), Cineboxd may fall back to minimal data.
Is Cineboxd affiliated with Letterboxd, TMDB, or any cinemas?
No. Cineboxd is an independent project and not officially affiliated with those services or venues.
I found something wrong — what should I do?
If a screening is incorrect or missing, email support@cineboxd.com with:
- the venue
- the film title
- the date/time
- a link to the venue's listing page
- what you expected Cineboxd to show