A Year-End Update For 'Coyote Vs. Acme'

As this saga continues to unfold after a holiday pause, may 2024 be better for all animation

It’s the end of 2023, and while there are many ways the year had its own problems plaguing the animation industry, Discovery’s management of Warner Bros. managed to still be one of them through a high-profile broken promise: the writing off of completed Looney Tunes film Coyote vs. Acme, made public in November. Its shelving was only aborted within days due to massive backlash from disgruntled audiences and industry professionals. It felt right to end the year in part updating my audience on the shopping progress, even if it took me a few weeks.

While Amazon was seen as an early favorite for the film when screenings were being set up, Netflix and Paramount are the only ones to have made bids. Apple has also seen the film, but sources say they’re passing, as is Sony. Paramount in particular seems to be touting a theatrical release, important with the craters created by the delays chosen instead of paying talent. Last heard, Amazon is still contemplating what to decide. Apparently it takes them longer over there to do business and make decisions through the company systems the right way. The people in marketing seem to have issues understanding the film, or just how to market it. And being three weeks later, there’s the holiday lull with very little business going on.

Warner Bros. Discovery is of course being difficult, wanting a full recoup on the $70 million budget despite having originally written it off for a $30 million return. Deadline’s dish, as written by Anthony D'Alessandro utterly tears into how ridiculous the studio is being and warns of the reputation not letting the film be released would bring. One filmmaker even told that the project they have in development won’t go into an active state until the studio itself is sold. According to what seems to be Puck, Netflix did express interest, at seemingly around that $30 million price tag but negotiations succinctly shut down. Somehow, brand confusion is an issue for the Looney Tunes but 55+ years of DC ownership spanning generations didn’t bring up the same concerns when the Amazon-MGM logo was attached to Merry Little Batman upon its release earlier this month. And they want to be paid extra even though they induced it in the first place by forcing it to be shopped around. The first image from the film itself also came about from somewhere around December 20, and is in use as this article’s header image. Maybe we’ll see progress once business resumes in the new year. Eric Bauza, the voice of Wile E. Coyote for the film and many of the other characters on the Looney Tunes roster elsewhere, is at the very least optimistic, sharing the image, hashtagging the movie with the message “See ya in 2024!!” with related emojis.

Coyote vs. Acme is directed by Dave Green and starring Bauza, with John Cena as Acme’s lawyer, Will Forte as Wile E.’s lawyer, and Lana Condor rounding out the live action cast. It was written by Samy Burch, whose film May December happened to be released on Netflix soon after the scrapping was reversed. She had done the story with James Gunn (now DC Studios co-CEO) and Jeremy Slater.

Source: Deadline, Eric Bauza, Puck via Joe Russo