From dead to box office success: Coyote vs. Acme's wild ride to the big screen
Coyote vs. Acme, a Looney Tunes spin-off, has finally made its way to the big screen after being left for dead. The film's journey was marked by controversy and public outcry after Warner Bros initially shelved it as a tax write-off.
A long-gestating film that was once left for dead has finally made its way to the big screen, sparking a major public relations crisis for the studio that once canned it.
Coyote vs. Acme, a Looney Tunes spin-off, tells the story of Wile E. Coyote and his legal battle with Acme, whose products have repeatedly failed him in his quest to catch his nemesis, the Road Runner.
What is Coyote vs. Acme?
The film combines its Looney Tunes stars with a flesh-and-blood cast, including Will Forte and John Cena, in a style reminiscent of the semi-animated film noir classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
The real-world spin on the failures of Wile E. Coyote stems from a spoof New Yorker article from 1990 by Ian Frazier, in which he imagines Mr Coyote launching a civil suit against Acme seeking just over $US38 million in damages and compensation for "personal injuries, loss of business income, and mental suffering caused as a direct result of the actions and/or gross negligence of said company".
The film's journey to the big screen
Dave Green signed on as director in late 2019, and Coyote vs. Acme began filming the live-action scenes in early 2022.
British special effects house DNEG, which also worked on Denis Villeneuve's Dune trilogy, began work on the film's hybrid 2D and 3D animation effects, and the film was set for a July 21, 2023, release.
However, Warner Bros quietly handed that release date off to Barbie instead, and Coyote vs. Acme languished on the shelf.
Then on November 9, 2023, Warner Bros announced that even though the film was finished, it had no plans ever to release it.
Why was the film initially shelved?
According to a Deadline.com article from the time, Warner Bros. execs decided that rather than shell out another $US40 million ($55.7 million) to promote the $US70 million film, they'd cut their losses and ditch it as a $US30 million tax write-off.
"It's a David vs Goliath story … about the cynical and casual cruelness of capitalism and corporate greed," the film's editor, Carsten Kurpanek, tweeted.
"#CoyoteVsAcme is about a giant corporation choosing stock over empathy, doing nothing 'illegal' but morally shady stuff for profit."
The public outcry and new hope
The cast and crew of Coyote vs. Acme were blindsided and outraged by the decision to ditch the film.
Composer Steven Price called the move "bizarre anti-art studio financial shenanigans I will never understand".
The internet, as usual, was angry — cue the obligatory hashtags (#ReleaseCoyoteVsAcme and #SaveCoyoteVsAcme).
The outrage was short and sharp, and within four days, Warner Bros had relented somewhat, instead agreeing to let the filmmakers shop the film around to find a new distributor.
The film's resurrection
Finally, on March 31, 2025, Deadline reported that indie distributor Ketchup Entertainment had bought Coyote vs. Acme, with the aim of a 2026 release.
The film has grossed $US65 million worldwide, including close to $50 million in the US, and has yet to roll out in many countries.
Ahead of its US opening, critic aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has the film at a remarkable 96 per cent "Fresh" rating from 264 reviews.
Australian audiences will get their opportunity to see what all the fuss is about this week.