Warner Bros.’ live-action animated comedy COYOTE VS. ACME could see the light of day after all. That’s according to Deadline, which broke news this week that WB is closing in on an agreement to sell distribution rights to the film to the indie distributor Ketchup Entertainment. The deal is reported to be in the vicinity of $50 million, and if it goes forward, Ketchup would make plans for a 2026 release to theatres.
In November 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav made the controversial decision to call off the release of the completed movie, allowing the company to write off its $70M investment in the movie as a total loss. The studio also pocketed the money it would have spent on promoting COYOTE VS. ACME, at the risk of uncertain returns at the box office and from streaming.
Zaslav’s decision to kill the project sparked intense backlash from many across the entertainment industry, after its production team had put the finishing touches on their creation and early test screenings had been positive. This decision on COYOTE VS. ACME is significantly different than several other movies that had also been cancelled at the last minute, including BATGIRL and SCOOB! which had received a poor response from audiences at test screenings.
While the write-offs may have given some financial savings for the strapped studio, which reportedly spent $135 million on a series of cancelled projects, it was a depressing development for fans of Looney Tunes, showing that the studio that created these characters was now abandoning them.
Enter Ketchup Entertainment. Last week, the distributor brought out another shelved Looney Tunes feature, THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP: A LOONEY TUNES MOVIE. In its partnership with Falling Forward Films, the live-action animated film played on over 2,500 screens and was the fifth highest-grossing movie of the weekend.
By going after ACME VS. COYOTE, Ketchup is placing a big bet on the appeal of the legacy franchise. It would also be a big win for exhibitors to have the languished Looney Tunes project finally get its theatrical release.
