Previously threatened with deletion, Coyote Vs Acme will be getting a cinema release in 2026, it’s been confirmed.
Update: Coyote Vs Acme will be getting a release after all, it’s been confirmed. Ketchup Entertainment, the company that previously distributed The Day The Earth Blew Up, has made a deal with Warner Bros to release the previously shelved film in US cinemas. As previously reported, the deal is said to have been worth $50m.
“We’re thrilled to have made a deal with Warner Bros Pictures to bring this film to audiences worldwide,” Ketchup Entertainment boss Gareth West said in a statement published by TheWrap. “Coyote Vs Acme is a perfect blend of nostalgia and modern storytelling, capturing the essence of the beloved Looney Tunes characters while introducing them to a new generation. We believe it will resonate with both longtime fans and newcomers alike.”
Previously scrapped as a tax write-off, Coyote Vs Acme will instead be appearing in US cinemas in 2026. We’ll let you know if we hear anything about a release in the UK. Whatever happens, it’s a happy outcome for a charming-sounding film.
Our original story follows…
19th March 2025: Threatened with deletion by Warner Bros in 2023, the Looney Tunes-themed comedy Coyote Vs Acme might – just might – be getting a release after all. The latest story goes that the studio is in negotiations to sell the shelved movie to Ketchup Entertainment – the same distributor that released The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie in US cinemas earlier this month.
The news comes via Deadline, which reports that Ketchup could be about to spend roughly $50m on Coyote Vs Acme if the talks are successful. If it does happen, then the movie could finally, after three long years, get a cinema release in 2026, the same report adds.
It’s worth sounding a note of caution here, though. There have been on-again, off-again stories about Warner Bros selling Coyote Vs Acme to another company for about two years now; around the time of last year’s Oscars, its screenwriter, Samy Burch, said that the film had been screened for potential buyers. Then things went all quiet again.
There’s the possibility that things may pan out a little differently this time, though. The Day The Earth Blew Up wasn’t a big financial success for Ketchup, but it was critically acclaimed, and will continue to bring in revenue via disc and streaming. Warner Bros a certain amount of financial uncertainty of late, too, such that it’s hesitating to greenlight certain films and is banking its long term future on the success of this summer’s Superman.
Read more: 10 major films that have been shelved or scrapped over the past decade
All of which might make Warner Bros more keen to shift Coyote Vs Acme and bring in a bit of cash. The film was originally shelved in order to claim a tax rebate worth a reported $30m; if the deal happens, then the $50m bill would more than cover the money Warner Bros would presumably have to hand back to the IRS.
Directed by Dave Green, Coyote Vs Acme is a hybrid of live-action and animation in which the hapless Wile E Coyote attempts to sue the Acme Corporation for its shoddy products. Will Forte stars as the coyote’s lawyer, while John Cena plays Acme’s legal eagle. (Editor’s note: John Cena doesn’t play an actual eagle.)
Shot for a budget of about $70m, the film fell victim to the Warner Bros – Discovery merger earlier in 2023, and word of its deletion sparked disappointment and polite outrage from both those who made it and the wider industry. Warner Bros ignored all this and cancelled the film anyway.
This latest report suggests that the Coyote Vs Acme saga may yet have a happy ending, however. Perhaps Batgirl could be rescued from Warner Bros’ hard drives, too?
More on this as we get it.
