Coyote vs. Acme

This article is about the film. For the magazine article of the same name, see Coyote v. Acme.

Coyote vs. Acme
Production company	Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures Animation Two Monkeys, A Goat and Another, Dead, Monkey
Distributor	Ketchup Entertainment
Release date	2026
Starring	Will Forte John Cena Lana Condor Eric Bauza
Executive producer(s)	Sam Register
Producer(s)	James Gunn Chris DeFaria
Music composed by	Steven Price
Story by	Sammy Burch
Screenplay by	Sammy Burch James Gunn
Director(s)	Dave Green

Coyote vs. Acme is an upcoming American live-action/animated film based off the character of Wile E. Coyote and Acme from the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies theatrical shorts, and the 1990 magazine article of the same name originally published in The New Yorker by Ian Fraizer. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, the film was directed by Dave Green, from a screenplay written by Samy Burch, and a story by Burch, James Gunn (who also served as a producer), and Jeremy Slater. The film's cast was John Cena, Will Forte, Lana Condor, with voices from Eric Bauza.

Warner Bros. Discovery initially shelved the film in November 2023 so it could obtain a $30 million tax write-down, but public backlash led them to reverse their decision the same month, allowing the filmmakers to shop the film to other distributors. After several unsuccessful negotiations, Ketchup Entertaiment, who previously distributed The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, acquired the film for $50 million on March 31, 2025. It is set to have a 2026 theatrical release date.

After numerous failed attempts to catch the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote sues the Acme corporation on court with a help of an attorney named Kevin Avery.

Organizations

• Acme

Locations

• Earth
  • United States

Production

Initial cancellation, reversal and further discussions

Coyote vs. Acme was to be theatrically released in the United States on July 21, 2023. Warner Bros. later removed the film from its planned release schedule, and instead replaced the slot with Barbie.

On November 9, 2023, the film was shelved due to a $30 million tax write-down imposed by Warner Bros. Discovery. It was the third Warner Bros. film under the WBD management to recieve this fate after Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt. The crew was not informed of the decision until after the film was completed, and it recieved backlash from the filmmakers, animation outlets, and talent representatives. As a result, many online users began to use the hashtag #ReleaseCoyoteVsAcme as a grassroots campaign to give the film a release.

Following the criticism of its initial shelving, Puck reported that the studio reversed their decision on November 13, and allowed the filmmakers to shop the film to other distributors. As reported by Deadline Hollywood, Amazon MGM Studios, Apple Studios, and Netflix were interested in buying the distribution rights to the film. Later, the film had been reportedly screened for more studios including Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures. While Netflix and Paramount had made bids, with the latter including a theatrical component; Amazon was still interested despite making no formal bids; and Sony and Apple were not planning to make bids.

On February 9, 2024, Warner Bros. rejected the bids from Netflix, Amazon MGM Studios and Paramount Pictures. Warner Bros. wanted $75–$80 million to sell the film, but no distributors matched their price, and the studio rejected counter bids. Warner Bros. considered to either shelve and delete the film (which had been in a state of limbo at the time) and claimed it to another tax loss. Following its Q4 2023 earnings call on February 23, 2024, Warner Bros. took a $115 tax write-down while not directly confirming the film's cancellation.

On March 10, 2024, during the red carpet of the 96th Academy Awards, screenwriter Sammy Birch confirmed that negotiations with other distributors are still ongoing. She stated, "We hope that it will somehow find its home and not end up stuck in a vault for the rest of time. That would be a great resolution."

Responses

Like the previous shelving, the second cancellation was met with online critcism. The hashtag #ReleaseCoyoteVsAcme, along with other hashtags relating to it, started trending on February 9, 2024, and continued to trend for the following weeks.

At the 51st Annie Awards, Eric Bauza responsed in his hosting speech with an improvised exchange with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, and stating in his Daffy voice, "I hate to be political, but release Coyote vs. Acme!" Bauza further wrote on a Twitter post on Febuary 23, stating, "The fight to release 'Coyote Vs ACME' goes far beyond saving a great movie. We are trying to preserve the integrity & importance of these icon legacy characters, while protecting the creative process of storytelling all together."

On February 29, Will Forte released a statement after seeing the final cut of the film, stating, "To the Cast and Crew of Coyote Vs Acme — I know that a lot of you haven’t gotten a chance to see our movie. And sadly, it’s looking like you never will. When I first heard that our movie was getting ‘deleted,’ I hadn’t seen it yet. So I was thinking what everyone else must have been thinking: this thing must be a hunk of junk. But then I saw it. And it’s incredible."

Promotion

Photos

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  First look.