Coyote vs. Acme hits theaters despite Warner Bros. Discovery once trying to shelve it
After Warner Bros. Discovery attempted to write off Coyote vs. Acme for tax purposes, the film is now earning positive reviews and will open in theaters on August 28th thanks to distributor Ketchup Entertainment. Critics note the controversy over its near-cancellation adds to its appeal.
Coyote vs. Acme will open in theaters on August 28th, but the road there was rocky. Warner Bros. Discovery had originally planned to shelve the nearly finished film to claim a tax write-off rather than release it, a decision that drew widespread attention to the studio's practice of quietly disappearing completed projects. Distribution rights were eventually picked up by Ketchup Entertainment.
Loosely based on Ian Frazier's New Yorker piece "Coyote v. Acme," the film follows Wile E. Coyote as he abandons his usual gadget-based schemes against the Road Runner and instead sues Acme over its faulty products. His attorney, Kevin Avery (Will Forte), urges him to accept a settlement offered by Acme's counsel, Buddy Crane (John Cena), but Coyote believes a courtroom win could bring a far bigger payout.
An absurd world and corporate satire
The movie blends live-action and animation in a world where cartoon characters hold ordinary jobs alongside humans. Acme itself is portrayed as a stand-in for a mix of WBD, Apple, Tesla, and Lockheed Martin, positioning the story as commentary on corporations misleading consumers.
The screenplay comes from James Gunn, Jeremy Slater, and Samy Burch. While it includes a growing friendship between Coyote and Avery, most of the runtime is devoted to chaotic gags built around the clash between cartoon physics and the real world.
Notably, the film doesn't shy away from poking fun at WBD itself — Foghorn Leghorn appears as Acme's scheming boss, evoking comparisons to WBD chief David Zaslav. That self-aware humor suggests the studio could be doing more with characters like Bugs Bunny and Granny.
Given the modest box-office track record of WBD's recent Looney Tunes releases, Coyote vs. Acme isn't expected to break records before eventually landing on a streaming service. Still, its release serves as a reminder of how close the studio came to discarding the project entirely, coming at a time when WBD is weighing a potential merger with Paramount.
