“Coyote vs. Acme” Warner Bros. Three years after it was shelved for tax credits and rescued by independent distributor Ketchup Entertainment, the Looney Tunes comedy has become a blockbuster bright spot, grossing more than $100 million worldwide. Warner Bros. thought it was financially unworthy of a big screen release. Was Discovery chief David Zaslav wrong to cancel the film?
The answer may depend on who does the accounting, analysts say. “Coyote vs. Acme” is a big win for Ketchup Entertainment, which paid $50 million for distribution rights and pre-sold to foreign territories to offset the cost. Considering that the film’s production cost was $70 million, these revenues will go to Warner Bros. It may not be that celebratory for you. (Theater owners keep half the ticket sales.) Warner Bros. abandoned the live-action-animation hybrid starring Will Forte and John Cena and produced by DC Studios co-chief James Gunn in exchange for a $30 million tax break.
There’s an argument to be made that Warner Bros. could have thrown more marketing dollars behind the game’s release, which could have increased global ticket sales. There’s another case where moviegoers rallied behind “Coyote vs. Acme” just to prove the studio wrong. By comparison, “Coyote vs. Acme” is a Warner Bros. It significantly outperformed 2024’s “The Day the Earth Exploded: A Looney Tunes Movie,” another Looney Tunes adventure recently distributed by Ketchup, after Discovery quietly decided to remove that film as well. “The Day the Earth Exploded,” whose target audience is much younger, grossed $15.4 million worldwide.
“Once you see the effects, it’s easy to come to a conclusion,” says Shawn Robbins, founder of Box Office Theory and director of film analytics at Fandango. “The movie was a success in part because the fans rallied around it. But it turned out to be a good movie.”
Backed by great reviews and positive buzz, “Coyote vs. Acme” was released in late August and is off to a strong start with $15.9 million domestically. Ticket sales have since risen to $59.8 million domestically and $45 million internationally; This underlined the value of PG-rated films with brand awareness. Theater owners often complain that there aren’t enough new movies for families. While original animations have suffered in the post-COVID years, remakes, spinoffs and sequels in well-known franchises like “Sonic the Hedgehog” and “PAW Patrol” have been reliable as modest box office draws.
The success of “Coyote vs. Acme” is dazzling, especially considering Warner Bros. terrible 2026 box office performance. The studio nabbed a string of money-losers, including Tom Cruise’s dark comedy “Digger” and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s punk rocker “The Bride!” and DC’s “Supergirl.”
“This intellectual property had legacy value, and the box office returns for ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ reflect that,” says analyst David A. Gross of FranchiseRe. “Movies watched by all audiences are extremely valuable and among the top earners at the box office. Stronger marketing could also have yielded positive results.”
Moreover, according to studio sources, the wall-to-wall negative press Zaslav produced to shelve a finished film (which was supposedly well-received at test screenings) wasn’t worth the headache. The decision did little to endear the former television executive to the film community, after his predecessor Jason Kilar’s ill-fated decision to release the studio’s 2021 film simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max isolated many creators in Hollywood. Sources added that Zaslav delegated the final call to accountants, even though other employees at Warner Bros. pushed back on the decision to bury the film.
At the time, “Coyote vs. Acme” was the third casualty of Zaslav’s post-pandemic cost-cutting efforts. It shocked Hollywood in 2022 by shelving the $90 million DC-centric “Batgirl” and kid-friendly “Scoob! Holiday Haunt” for tax purposes. These three films were greenlit by the studio’s former chief Kilar, who left earlier that year. Zaslav, who replaced Kilar, said at the time that the studio had shifted its priorities back to theater and felt “Coyote vs. Acme” did not fit with the company’s new creative direction. Box office watchers predict that Zaslav will be released by Warner Bros. He wonders if he understands the value of his catalogue. After all, “Coyote vs. Acme,” “Batgirl” and “Scoob” come from well-known brands. There’s a reason why studios invest so heavily in recognizable franchises; they are designed to make the kind of easy profits that will help justify other original swings.
“We see a lot of remakes and sequels because it makes money,” Robbins says. “The fact that ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ is based on IP strengthens the curiosity behind Warner Bros. [getting rid of it].”