Warner Bros. To Make Facebook Movie Rentals The Next Big Thing?

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If you go to college or work in an office, you probably are on Facebook 8 hours a day, so why not rent your movies while you’re there? You could be, very soon. Warner Bros. has started offering a rental of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight via the Facebook page for that movie if you “Like” the movie. The rental will cost a minimal fee, and so far, is the only movie that Warner or anybody is  offering via the service. Is this the start of something huge?

Warner is asking $3 or 30 Facebook Credits to rent the movie. You have to use Facebook Credits to watch the movie, which surely makes Mark Zuckerburg happy. To be honest, this is the first non-game/spam use of Facebook Credits that I’ve seen, and while I’m still not a fan of these fake money denominations (Microsoft Points, I’m looking at you), it actually legitimatizes the whole Facebook platform, in my opinion.

Terms for the rental are pretty standard. For $3, looks to be a standard def rental and you’ll have 48 hours from the time of rental to watch the movie.

Right now, Warner is just offering The Dark Knight as a rental. They don’t promise any other movies in the future, but I’d expect this to be an trial run to see how many folks they can get to dish out Facebook Credits in order to watch a movie. Of course, if you’re a tech savy user, you’ll have another place to rent movies, considering that there’s iTunes, Amazon, Netflix, the ton of other services and now Facebook. Really, no reason to go that video store around the corner.

What do you think about this? Awesome, or evil? Tell us about it in the comments. Stay tuned for the full press release:

WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT BECOMES FIRST HOLLYWOOD STUDIO TO OFFER MOVIES DIRECTLY ON FACEBOOK®

MILLIONS OF WARNER BROS. FACEBOOK FANS CAN NOW RENT MOVIES USING FACEBOOK CREDITS AND STREAM WITHIN STUDIO’S MOVIE FAN PAGES

PROGRAM WILL EXPAND TO DIGITAL MOVIE PURCHASES IN THE NEAR FUTURE

BURBANK, CALIF., March 8, 2011 – Warner Bros. Digital Distribution (WBDD), a market leader in video-on-demand and electronic sell-through, today announced it will begin testing an offering of selected movies for purchase or rental through Warner Bros. Entertainment’s Facebook movie Pages. Consumers will be able to use Facebook Credits to easily buy or rent a title, all while staying connected to Facebook.
Starting today, millions of fans who “Liked” Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film “The Dark Knight” can rent the title through its official Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/darkknight). Consumers simply click on the “rent” icon to apply their Facebook Credits, and within seconds they will begin enjoying the film. The cost per rental is 30 Facebook Credits or $3. This offering is presently available only to consumers in the United States. Additional titles will be made available for rental and purchase on a regular basis over the coming months.

“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.”

Fans will have full control over the film while watching it through their Facebook account for up to 48 hours from purchase. They can choose to watch it in full screen, pause the movie, and resume playing it when they log back into Facebook. Consumers will also have full Facebook functionality including the ability to post comments on the movie, interact with friends and update their status.

“The Dark Knight”The follow-up to “Batman Begins,” Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight” reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of “Batman/Bruce Wayne” in his continuing war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves effective, but soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker, who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces Batman closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante.

The film also stars Michael Caine as “Alfred”; Heath Ledger as “The Joker”; Gary Oldman as “Jim Gordon”; Aaron Eckhart as “Harvey Dent”; Maggie Gyllenhaal as “Rachel Dawes”; and Morgan Freeman as “Lucius Fox.” Nolan directed the film from a screenplay written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The producers are Charles Roven, Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan.

Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.

About Warner Bros. Digital Distribution Warner Bros. Digital Distribution (WBDD) oversees the electronic distribution of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group’s content through Video-On-Demand, Pay-Per-View, Electronic Sell-Through and Subscription Video-On-Demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels. WBDD also distributes content through third party digital retailers and licensees. A worldwide industry leader since its inception, WBDD also manages the Studio’s E-commerce sites that include WBShop.com and WarnerArchive.com. Twitter: @WBDigitalDist