Warner Bros. To Allow Looney Tunes Film 'Coyote Vs. Acme' To Be Shopped

Screenings are being set up this week for Prime Video, Apple and Netflix

A miracle may have just occurred. Warner Bros. Discovery has unshelved Coyote vs. Acme, putting it up for shopping to other distributors. This was something they refused to do prior to the shelving, believing it not worth it despite interested buyers, or for any other film not intended to be shared with Cartoon Network. We’re still thinking of you, Batgirl and Scoob: Holiday Haunt.

Coyote vs. Acme is the long-finished $70 million live action/CGI hybrid Looney Tunes film directed by Dave Green and starring John Cena, Will Forte, and Lana Condor, with Wile E. Coyote and his nemesis the Road Runner. When the news came down Thursday night, everyone was outraged, especially from filmmakers and the animation community, but there was also reportedly some heated arguing between the studio and representatives for the director and stars. The outrage reportedly reached Warner Bros. Pictures co-chairpersons and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, along with Warner Bros. Pictures Animation head Bill Damaschke, who made the decision to reverse course. The studio previously agreed to pay the higher talent from the scrapped film their streaming bonuses, but it became very clear that didn’t matter; everyone involved with it wants it to be released by someone.

Screenings are being set up this week for Prime Video, Apple and Netflix, with Amazon in particular being a favorite because Courtenay Valenti, Amazon Studios and MGM’s Head of Film, Streaming and Theatrical was a huge advocate for the film when she was at Warner Bros. The streamer has previously acquired Everybody’s Talking About Jamie from Disney, and Sony’s Hotel Transylvania: Transformania and Cinderella, as well as Merry Little Batman from Warner Bros., premiering December 8.

Coyote vs. Acme was definitely caught in the tumult of the change in regimes, greenlit back in December 2020, when WarnerMedia leadership wanted to make as much streaming content as possible, apparently no matter the cost. Jason Kilar didn't have bad intentions. But David Zaslav was so violently opposed to Max-exclusive movies, especially as 2022 was largely post-COVID (at least in the industry) which meant they could focus on theatrical movies again, so the strategy went away. Apparently some on the inside wondered whether the film played theatrically enough. Director Green’s claim on social media that the film “was embraced by test audiences …with fantastic scores,” wasn’t so accurate, apparently. Damaschke, in the midst of brewing his own strategy for Looney Tunes, got cold feet on the heels of Space Jam: A New Legacy grossing only $163 million worldwide and was grossly afraid of an underperforming film in the company’s current financial situation. That’s what led to the scrapping. Someone who’s seen the movie said it’s worth the theatrical try though. It remains to be seen how the shop goes.

As a reminder of what audiences might actually be able to see, Wile E. Coyote becomes fed up with ACME’s faulty product, so he hires an equally-unlucky human attorney, played by Forte, to sue the company. The lawyer discovers that his old law firm's intimidating boss, played by Cena, is ACME's CEO, ensuring their teamup in pursuit of victory.

And yes, blame Zaslav, because De Luca and Abdy have never had a reputation of killing previous administration’s films or finished movies in general over their careers until they were at Warner Bros.

Source: Puck, Deadline