You Can Now Watch “The Big Lebowski” with Your Facebook Friends

The cult classic The Big Lebowski is now available to rent onFacebook.



Coinciding with the film’s Blu-ray release, fans of the Coen brothers comedy can rent the film directly from The Big Lebowski Facebook fan page.

Facebook continues to gain ground as a movie rental platform. Last month, Paramount Pictures brought the Jackass film series to Facebook and Warner Bros. continues to make more titles available on the social network.

For this release, Universal Pictures is doing something more unique with its rental offering by giving fans a way to interact and share their favorite parts of the film online.

Working with F-commerce developer Milynoi, NBCUniversal is giving the Facebook rental experience a more social twist.

Users that rent the film can “like” and make comments on memorable scenes and quotes throughout the film. They can also see what other Facebook fans and friends have said while watching the movie. Plus, users can reward up to five friends with a $1 discount on the Facebook rental. A 48-hour rental is 30 Facebook Credits ($3), which is the same amount other studios are charging for similar titles.

 

 

 

 

Even though the film is available on DVD, Blu-ray and through digital download services such as Amazon, Cinema Now and Vudu, we think a Facebook offering makes sense for this type of film.

The Big Lebowski was not a blockbuster in theaters, but has found immense success on home video and DVD over the last 13 years. Much of its popularity has been fueled by strong word-of-mouth buzz and group rentals. I first saw the film my junior year of high school with a group of friends. It was a veritable staple in college.

Thus, it makes sense to us to allow current or new fans of the film to make the group viewing experience more visceral on the social web. With college and universities starting up, this would be a great way for friends spread out across the country to share a funny, infinitely quotable movie together.

Do you think more films should take a social approach to Facebook rentals? Let us know in the comments.
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