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Facebook gets five more film rentals

Warner Bros. Entertainment is now offering rentals for another handful of films on the social network, including "Inception" and "Yogi Bear."

Don Reisinger
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"Inception" is now available on Facebook--for 40 credits.
"Inception" is now available on Facebook--for 40 Credits. Warner Bros.

After the launch of "The Dark Knight" rental on Facebook earlier this month, Warner Bros. Entertainment is expanding its product offering.

Early this morning, the company released five more films that the social network's users can watch from the site. The newly available films--"Inception," "Yogi Bear," "Life As We Know It," "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"--are available to rent on users' individual Facebook pages.

As with "The Dark Knight," users who want to stream the rentals over the Web need to apply Facebook credits to rent the movies. However, pricing will vary. Whereas "The Dark Knight" is still available for 30 Facebook credits (about $3), the newer releases, including "Inception," "Yogi Bear," and "Life As We Know It" are retailing for 40 Facebook credits (about $4). The two "Harry Potter" films are available for 30 credits.

When Warner Bros. launched rentals on Facebook earlier this month, the company made it clear that it was done solely to test the waters and find out if people want the ability to pay for and watch films on the social network. Warner Bros. Digital Distribution President Thomas Gewecke said at the time that it was "a natural extension" of his company's digital distribution efforts.

Social media is becoming an important tool for film studios to both promote and generate revenue off their movies. A few weeks ago, Paramount Pictures premiered the trailer for its upcoming film "Super 8" on Twitter. The movie, which is being produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by "Lost" creator J.J. Abrams, was the first to have its trailer premiere on Twitter.

But if it's rentals users are after, they will have access to Warner Bros. content for 48 hours from the time of purchase. Users can watch the movies in full screen, pause at any point, and resume when they get back to the social network. Viewers can also post comments and interact with others while watching the film.

Warner Bros. rentals are available only to customers in the U.S.