Coyote Vs. Acme: Cast, Story, Release and Viewing Guide

The fact that “Coyote vs. Acme” is finally out in the world feels like a victory all by itself. Even better, the long-delayed Looney Tunes movie has arrived to enthusiastic praise. Looper’s review of “Coyote vs. Acme” called it “extremely funny and cleverly written,” a reaction echoed by many critics, as reflected in its 96% positive score on Rotten Tomatoes. Given that kind of response, it remains genuinely hard to understand why Warner Bros. ever considered shelving the film permanently for a tax write-off.

Over time, “Coyote vs. Acme” became much more than a promising comedy that audiences inexplicably weren’t allowed to watch. It turned into a symbol — a flashpoint in the ongoing tension between creative workers and corporate decision-makers. In modern Hollywood, the business side of show business is impossible to ignore, but this movie’s ordeal made that conflict painfully clear: years of work by hundreds of artists could be treated as disposable if an executive decided the balance sheet looked better that way.

Of course, some viewers may come to “Coyote vs. Acme” simply thinking, “Great, a new Looney Tunes movie.” Fair enough. But for anyone who missed the long, strange saga behind the film — or for those who want to revisit why its release matters so much — the road to “Coyote vs. Acme” is a story nearly as wild as one of Wile E. Coyote’s doomed contraptions.

Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner first raced onto screens in the 1949 short “Fast and Furry-ous.” From the beginning, the formula was beautifully simple: Coyote desperately tries to catch the impossibly speedy Road Runner, only to sabotage himself with elaborate gadgets, traps, and explosives purchased from the ever-present Acme Corporation. Whether because of faulty equipment or his own spectacular lack of judgment, every plan ends in disaster — often with Coyote taking the full blast.

Legendary Looney Tunes director Chuck Jones even devised a set of rules governing the Coyote and Road Runner cartoons, helping preserve the rhythm and logic of their endless desert chase. Those guidelines kept the shorts consistent without making them feel repetitive. Eventually, Wile E. Coyote became such an enduring pop-culture emblem of failure that the real surprise is not that someone imagined him suing Acme — it’s that the idea took so long to become a movie.

The concept actually appeared in print decades ago. Joey Green explored a similar premise in a 1982 National Lampoon article titled “Cliff-hanger Justice,” which framed Wile E. Coyote’s grievances against Acme in dense legal language. In 1990, Ian Frazier published a New Yorker piece called “Coyote vs. Acme,” built around the same basic idea, though Frazier has said he was unaware of the earlier Lampoon article. The completed “Coyote vs. Acme” film credits Frazier’s 1990 article as its source material.

A satirical article was one thing, but Wile E. Coyote dragging Acme into court always felt tailor-made for a feature film. Hollywood took notice more than once. Scott Rudin Productions acquired the rights to Frazier’s article in 1998, but there was one major obstacle: using the Looney Tunes characters required approval from Warner Bros. That permission never materialized, and the rights eventually expired.

Still, the idea was too strong to disappear forever. It later resurfaced with help from James Gunn, the filmmaker behind “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Superman,” who brought the concept to Jeremy Slater, known for projects including “Death Note” and “Mortal Kombat II.” Slater developed it into a screenplay, but Warner Bros. passed on that version. The project continued to evolve, and Slater later told ComicBook.com that multiple writers worked on the material before it reached Samy Burch, who receives the film’s sole “Screenplay By” credit. Burch, Gunn, and Slater share “Story By” credit.

While there are many differences between Slater’s draft and what’s on the big screen, he did say one thing remained the same: “They did a good job of capturing the spirit, emotion, and central relationships that were important to us right from the beginning. Those were all preserved in the new draft.”

Looney Tunes movies have traditionally inhabited genres that lend themselves to classic cartoon action. “Space Jam” is a sports movie with one of the most famous people of the ’90s at its center. “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” takes cues from action and spy films. “Coyote vs. Acme” is essentially a courtroom drama, which doesn’t feel like it would work with a bunch of wackiness. 

Dave Green boarded the project in 2019, drawing inspiration from some of the best lawyer movies of all time. In an interview with The Atlantic, Green mentioned “A Few Good Men,” “Erin Brockovich,” and “The Insider” as points of reference. Those are all classic underdog courtroom dramas where a nobody goes up against a system designed to keep them disenfranchised. After all, Coyote lives in a cave in the desert, and hires Kevin Avery (Will Forte), a billboard attorney who files cases against Acme for a couple hundred dollars a piece, to represent him. Given that Coyote has used failed Acme products for years, the case becomes much larger than expected, resulting in a lawsuit with nationwide attention.

But Coyote’s case is treated with the utmost severity, which Green believes is in line with the Looney Tunes mentality. “That’s the kind of behavior that really comes from Looney Tunes historically,” Green explained. “It’s Bugs Bunny in ‘Casablanca’ or Elmer Fudd at the opera, poking at high art.”

Ian Frazier’s article came out in 1990, and the first crack at the screenplay for “Coyote vs. Acme” began around 2015. Finally, in March 2022, cameras started rolling.

Principal photography took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And there were many challenges beyond what’s normal for any film production, namely it being a hybrid of animation and live-action. One particular scene where Coyote is trying to bring weapons and devices through a metal detector proved especially challenging. There’s a line of background actors behind Coyote, and Green had to ensure their eyelines matched up with where Coyote would be located. It was a difficult scene to pull off, but one played for great laughs in the finished film. 

Even when filming was completed, there was still the matter of all of the animation, which included a mix of both 2D and 3D animation. Still, the film was on its way to being finished. Warner Bros. even gave “Coyote vs. Acme” a release date of July 21, 2023, but it eventually relinquished that date to “Barbie.” Instead of Barbenheimer becoming the cinematic showdown of the summer, there’s an alternate reality where we could’ve gotten Coyoteheimer. But even with the delayed release date, surely nothing awful would happen to “Coyote vs. Acme” when the whole thing was pretty much done.

Right?

On April 8, 2022, as “Coyote vs. Acme” was in the middle of filming, Discovery fully acquired Warner Bros. New president and CEO David Zaslav made numerous unpopular decisions, like de-prioritizing animation and laying off thousands of workers. And in 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery wrote off nearly-completed movies for tax write-offs, like “Batgirl” and “Scoob! Holiday Haunt.”

Unfortunately, “Coyote vs. Acme” also found its way into this legal limbo. During a Q&A screening of  “Coyote vs. Acme” that Looper attended, Looney Tunes voice actor Eric Bauza mentioned how he had to record dialogue the day before the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike began. The week the strike was set to end, what should’ve been a joyous time, was instead met with awful news: “I was contacted by the director Dave Green, like ‘You want to grab a bite to eat to think of like marketing plans [for ‘Coyote vs. Acme.’] We were still very hopeful. We didn’t hear anything. And literally the same week that the actors’ strike ended is when we found out that we also ended as a film.”

If you’re wondering how a studio can delete a movie, Warner Bros. spent $70 million on the budget for “Coyote vs. Acme.” Instead of spending more on marketing, they decided not to release the film and take a $30 million tax write-off. And just like that, Wile E. Coyote met an organization more villainous than Acme — Warner Bros. Discovery. 

The heat toward Warner Bros. Discovery after the cancellation of “Batgirl” and “Scoob! Holiday Haunt,” was only further exacerbated following “Coyote vs. Acme.” The film was finished and had some enormously positive test screenings. By all accounts, this was on track to be the best Looney Tunes movie ever before being axed. 

According to reports, many filmmakers cancelled meetings with Warner Bros. because why would you set up a film there if there’s a chance you could finish and have it shelved indefinitely through no fault of your own? Brian Duffield, the director of “Whalefall,” even blacklisted Warner Bros. for the “Coyote vs. Acme” drama.

Many online voiced their frustrations with Warner Bros., including director Dave Green, who shared on X, “I am beyond proud of the final product, and beyond devastated by WB’s decision.” Many took to the platform with #ReleaseCoyoteVsAcme to express their disdain and try to give the film another life.

Shortly after the announcement, Warner Bros. shifted course slightly. Instead of writing off “Coyote vs. Acme,” they allowed the filmmakers to try selling it to another distributor. Many platforms expressed interest. including Netflix and Apple. However, most bids reportedly were between $30 and $50 million while Warner Bros. sought $70 million. It seemed like all hope would be lost before an unexpected savior appeared.

It seemed too late to save “Batgirl” and “Scoob! Holiday Haunt,” but hope remained alive for “Coyote vs. Acme.” People who worked on the film (and some who just saw it) regularly sung its praises. The film’s star Will Forte shared a statement on X: “You would be so proud of it — a movie that should be seen, but won’t. Please know that all the years and years of hard work, dedication and love that you put into this movie shows in every frame.”

On March 19, 2025, it was reported that Ketchup Entertainment was finalizing talks to acquire “Coyote vs. Acme” for distribution. Ketchup Entertainment certainly isn’t a name on the scale of Netflix or Apple. It’s an independent film production and distribution studio behind some modest releases like 2023’s “Hypnotic” starring Ben Affleck and “Hellboy: The Crooked Man.”

Previously, the company acquired the North American rights for “The Day the Earth Blew Up,” another Looney Tunes film that was originally intended to be an HBO Max exclusive that was also at risk of getting written off. It didn’t make a huge splash, garnering $15.5 million at the global box office. But Ketchup became the unofficial savior of the Looney Tunes when they officially acquired “Coyote vs. Acme,” saving it from permanent deletion. 

Despite filming in 2022 and nearly getting written off, “Coyote vs. Acme” finally landed in theaters on August 28, 2026. It’s clear this was never a matter of the film getting written off due to its quality. Warner Bros. Discovery must’ve just thought not enough people would go see a Looney Tunes movie no matter how excellent it was.

Wile E. Coyote has never had as much pathos, as Amy Nicholson notes in her review with The Los Angeles Times, “Wile E. Coyote isn’t asking for a handout. If anything, he’s a true believer in the American Dream, willingly and literally breaking his back to put food on his table.” Peter Howell of the Toronto Star praised its biting satire: “The film is a satirical missile aimed at corporate greed and corruption, especially apt targets these days.”

“Coyote vs. Acme” is already a success, but it performed better than expected at the box office. It made $15.5 million domestically in its opening weekend with another $8.4 million coming from international markets. Will Ketchup Entertainment see a profit considering they spent $50 million on the film? “Coyote vs. Acme” made more than “The Day the Earth Blew Up” in its entire run in one weekend alone, so there’s something to be said of that. Getting “Coyote vs. Acme” into theaters was always about the moral victory over it becoming a financial hit. 

It’s ironic that Warner Bros. tried burying “Coyote vs. Acme,” given that the film is about an evil corporation sticking it to the little guy. Wile E. Coyote files a lawsuit against Acme for all of its defective products despite Acme having more resources at its disposal compared to Kevin. It’s a classic underdog story of someone fighting for justice against all odds, which factored heavily into the film’s marketing. 

One trailer for “Coyote vs. Acme” ends with Foghorn Leghorn narrating, “The Acme Corporation is releasing this film for accounting purposes only!” If Warner Bros. had just released “Coyote vs. Acme” like normal, people probably wouldn’t have thought much of its anti-corporation messaging. It would just be another family movie where the bad guy is some nebulous company. But now, Warner Bros. had become Acme, a company that didn’t mind stepping on the little guy if it meant making a few extra bucks. 

“Coyote vs. Acme” was no longer just another film. It was a rallying cry, and its premiere was a full-on celebration, with someone in a Wile E. Coyote costume walking down the red carpet with a full-on marching band. In this rare instance, the little guy had won, and all of the artists who worked on the film finally had their hard work seen. 

Some may look at the box office for “Coyote vs. Acme” and assume maybe Warner Bros. was right to cancel it. People just don’t turn out for Looney Tunes movies like back then with “Space Jam.” But that’s missing the point. Warner Bros. gave the green light to “Coyote vs. Acme.” People worked tirelessly and dedicated to it. Then all of that gets pushed aside for a tax write-off, so that a company can move some numbers around in its ledgers.

There’s always a financial side to making movies. Corporations give filmmakers millions of dollars to make something, typically expecting to see a return on its investment. But movies are also art. They represent hundreds, if not thousands, of skilled artisans all working in tandem to tell a story. Sometimes it turns out great. Other times … well, it’s a miracle for any movie to get made, let’s leave it at that.

No matter what, those movies deserve to be seen. A studio agreeing to make a film and then deciding they’d rather write it off after its completed is the antithesis to everything art stands for. “Coyote vs. Acme” being saved is a major win no matter how much money it makes. You never know what kid might watch it years from now and be inspired to pursue filmmaking or animation because of it. That would be the greatest win of all.