Facebook To Begin Offering Movie Rentals

Facebook will begin rolling out movie rentals, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Warner Bros. will begin by offering The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's Batman hit on the social networking site, through its official Facebook page.

The cost of a rental would be 30 Facebook credits, or $3. Users would then have 48 hours from purchase time to watch the movie. Facebook would continue to functional normally during that time.

"Facebook has become a daily destination for hundreds of millions of people," said Thomas Gewecke, president of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, told THR. "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."

This first movie will serve as a test, but additional purchases will be available over the next few months for rental, and purchase.

All Things Digital points out that the move puts Facebook in competition with a host of companies: "Every digital heavyweight is making a play for your living room. Apple, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, everyone," Peter Kafka writes.