Facebook Moves Into the Movie Rental Business

Warner Bros. announced late Monday that it would become the first studio in Hollywood to allow Facebook users to rent a digital movie through the popular social network. Interested? Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, the second of his two (soon to be three) Batman movies can be streamed online by visiting the movie's Facebook page and renting it for 48 hours using 30 ($3) Facebook Credits.

Viewers will have 48 hours from the purchase to watch the movie, which can be viewed full screen and also paused and resumed within that period. While watching the movie, consumers will also have full Facebook functionality, including the ability to post comments, interact with friends and update their status.

"Facebook has become a daily destination for hundreds of millions of people," said Thomas Gewecke, president of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. "Making our films available through Facebook is a natural extension of our digital distribution efforts. It gives consumers a simple, convenient way to access and enjoy our films through the world's largest social network."

While the Knight offering is described as a test, Warners also said that additional titles for both rental and purchase will be rolled out over the coming months.

Read the full story at The Hollywood Reporter.