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.

———

(c) 2011, Los Angeles Times.

Visit the Los Angeles Times on the Internet at http://www.latimes.com/.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.