Advanced Television

Lions Gate launches film on Facebook

January 17, 2012

Lions Gate has become the first movie studio to include Facebook rentals in a home entertainment launch of a national feature film in the US this week with its release of ‘Abduction’.

Dean Alms, vice-president of marketing at Milyoni, the California-based company that makes social entertainment software for studios said the release of a new film marks a turning point for Facebook movie viewing.

“Movie studios are going from awareness to adoption,” Alms said. “We’re seeing more and newer social applications.”

Lions Gate, for example, have offered access to an exclusive interview with Taylor Lautner, the star of Abduction, to fans who answer a trivia question about the film while watching it on Facebook.

Also, during key scenes, pop-up boxes will appear on the screen with a quote from the scene, or a 20-second clip of it, and give users an option to write a note and post it on Facebook. If a friend watches the movie later, she will see that comment float by in the bottom half of the screen during that same point in the film.

Movie studios see a 20-30 per cent spike in their Facebook fans after each movie is released on the platform, Alms said, while more detailed data about those fans helps studios design better, more targeted advertising campaigns.

Abduction costs $3.99 for a 48-hour Facebook rental.

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