Coyote vs. Acme finally releases three years after it was permanently shelved

In 2023 Warner Bros caused widespread fury after it was revealed that, a year after they permanently shelved Batgirl to try and make a profit via tax credits, they were also canning the Loonie Tunes film Coyote vs. Acme.

Coyote vs. Acme was the final straw for many online after Batgirl and two Scooby Doo films had their releases cancelled for tax reasons, leading to an online movement to bring Coyote vs. Acme to theatres and a petition with over 20,000 signatures.

Numerous celebrities spoke out about how bringing the film to audiences was essential, with names such as Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Batgirl directors Adil and Bilal, and the stars of the film John Cena, Will Forte, Lana Condor, and Eric Bauza.

Here’s how Coyote vs. Acme was cancelled and, ultimately, brought back from the dead.

Coyote vs. Acme was deemed to be more valuable to Warner Bros locked in a vault than it did on the cinema screen

Warner Bros were merged with Discovery in April of 2022, forming Warner Bros Discovery (WBD). The company was left with huge debts off the back of this leading to new CEO David Zaslav to bring in strategies for major cost-cutting which he called ‘synergies’.

Thousands of employees were laid off or their jobs lost in restructuring efforts, but the most prominent way these cost-cutting methods went about were to shelves several major films deemed more profitable as a tax write-off than as a released movie.

Coyote vs. Acme cost $70 million to produce but it was reported by Forbes that they expected to receive roughly $30 million in tax write offs, more than they believed they’d make in profit once you factor in the cost of marketing and distributing the movie.

WBD said in a statement at the time: “With this new direction, we have made the difficult decision not to move forward with Coyote vs. Acme. We have tremendous respect for the filmmakers, casts, and crew, and are grateful for their contributions to the film.”

Coyote vs. Acme was bought for $50 million and reviews imply it was all worth it

The film blends live action and animation and follows Wiley Coyote suing Acme (Ketchup)

Coyote vs. Acme was bought off Warner Bros. by Ketchup Entertainment for $50 million, more than WBD was hoping to make from the tax.

It’s not surprising that WDB u-turned on their decision, with some reports even stating that it had such a strong backlash in the film community that certain talent did not want to work with the company, with some cancelling meetings.

Screenwriter Samy Burch told the LA Times: “I had resigned myself at the time that this movie might take 30 years to get out of the vault… I’m really happy that Ketchup saved it and now it’s going to be out there forever and no one can stop it.”

Director David Green said: “There was always a flicker of hope, and I don’t think we ever gave up on that. Something I told people on our crew was, ‘Forever is a really long time.’ I always felt like at some point the movie had to eventually be seen on the grand spectrum of time.”

After all this build up though it would’ve been a shame if the film was not well received, but thankfully fans and critics are loving it so far.

With a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes it is the highest rated Loonie Tunes film of all time, with Nicolás Delgadillo of DiscussingFilm saying in their review: “On paper, it’s a project that is stacked against many odds, but Coyote vs. Acme delivers by bursting with inspired creativity and dedication in every frame.”