Coyote vs. Acme: WB's Shelved Hybrid Earns Rave Reviews
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- Warner Bros shelved the completed film in 2023 for a tax writeoff rather than release it, following its earlier $90 million Batgirl burial
- Ketchup Entertainment acquired Coyote vs. Acme for a reported $50 million and gave it a theatrical release on August 28, 2026, after previously distributing WB's animated 'The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie'
- Coyote vs. Acme is directed by Dave Green from a screenplay by Oscar nominee Samy Burch, adapted from a 1990 Ian Frazier New Yorker article, with James Gunn producing and sharing a Screen Story credit with Jeremy Slater
- Will Forte stars as a down-on-his-luck lawyer who represents Wile E. Coyote against Acme Corporation, with John Cena as opposing counsel and Lana Condor as Forte's niece
- The film features classic Looney Tunes characters as courtroom witnesses and informants — including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, and Tweety Bird — with voice work by Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, and Jim Cummings
- The reviewer declares it Warner Bros' best film released so far in 2026 and the best animated/live-action hybrid since 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit,' surpassing the studio's actual 2026 theatrical disappointments like Supergirl
Why it matters: Warner Bros killed a finished film for accounting purposes while suffering real box office losses elsewhere this year (notably Supergirl), then sold it to a small distributor that turned it into the year's best-reviewed hybrid — a case study in how the shelve-for-writeoff strategy can cost a studio more reputational and financial ground than it saves.
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