Hollywood’s largest studios will on Monday offer consumers the ability to download and own films from the internet on the same day that they are released on DVD, marking a milestone in the industry’s embrace of digital distribution.

The service is being launched by Movielink, an online joint venture formed in 2002 by MGM Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Brothers. The company has been slow to gain momentum because it traditionally received films 30 to 60 days after they were released on DVD, and could only rent them to customers on a temporary basis.