Facebook, Warner Bros. agree to distribution deal

LOS ANGELES — Warner Bros. has become the first Hollywood
studio to offer movies for rental or purchase on Facebook, enabling
users to watch films on the popular social-networking site, the studio
has announced. First up? “The Dark Knight,” available starting Tuesday.
Now movie fans have one more reason never to log off Facebook.

Facebook fans who “liked” director Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” can now pay $3 to rent the superhero film through the movie’s page on the site. Warner Bros. said that over the coming months it would make additional titles available for rental or purchase.

The new offering, which Warner Bros. described as a test, is part of an ongoing effort by Hollywood
studios to offer their movies in more ways online to boost the
still-nascent digital-distribution business. Increasing online rentals
and sales is critical for the entertainment industry as revenue from
DVDs continues to fall.

Warner Bros. also recently launched applications for “The
Dark Knight” and “Inception” that allow users to watch the movies on an
iPhone or iPad without downloading them from iTunes.

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