Development on Coyote vs. ACME started in 2018, and a theatrical release was later pencilled in for July 2023. However, Warner Bros. Discovery removed the movie from its schedule in April 2022 and, in November 2023, announced it would no longer release the completed film.
Instead, the studio opted for a roughly $30 million tax write-off amid post-merger cost-cutting, following similar moves with Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt. That sparked significant backlash, including from filmmakers and a congressman. Bowing to pressure, Warner Bros. allowed Coyote vs. ACME's creative team to shop the film to other buyers.
The studio didn't make it easy, but in March 2025, Ketchup Entertainment acquired worldwide rights for around $50 million, and much to the delight of Looney Tunes fans everywhere, the movie will finally arrive in theaters later this month.
The first wave of reviews has just been published, and with that, Coyote vs. ACME has debuted on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. It initially had a perfect 100% score, but with 33 verdicts now counted, it sits at a still-incredible 94%. Needless to say, this bodes well for a movie that very nearly didn't see the light of day.
The Hollywood Reporter hails it as "one of the best live-action/animated hybrid films ever," with Next Best Picture adding, "The fact that the film is not only good enough to make WB’s decision to shelve it look cowardly and anti-art, but has only gained emotional resonance because of how that drama ties into its own story, is cause for celebration."
RogerEbert.com writes, "It’s a reminder that there are ways to homage decades of animated comedy without feeling like fan service, bringing these characters to both new fans and the old ones who may have forgotten how much they love them."
While AV Club notes, "It’s a Looney Dark Waters, both winningly silly and slyly intelligent about what winning really means, all wrapped into a referential live-action Tune world not unlike our own," Looper explains, "Measuring by sheer laughs per minute, Coyote vs. Acme is the funniest film of 2026 so far."
Metro awards the full five stars, enthusing, "Coyote vs. Acme is the new version of Space Jam, but better... It brings back the Looney Tunes with a bang and a glorious burst of zany energy. As with the best family films, I’m not sure if it's more for kids or adults... It deserves to be a phenomenon."
As for the negative reviews, there are only two. The first comes from Screen International, which surmises, "The lacklustre screenplay proves as faulty as ACME’s crummy contraptions." Variety is the other, adding, "It could have been called 'Remembrance of Rube Goldberg Bombs Past.' Yet there’s a certain way that 'Coyote vs. Acme,' next to those cartoons, feels neutered and tame."
Ketchup Entertainment was clearly confident, as over two weeks is very early for an embargo to lift. Coyote vs. ACME hasn't hit box office tracking yet, but if any movie stands a chance of knocking Spider-Man: Brand New Day from the #1 spot in August, it could be this one.
After decades of being blown to bits by bombs, demolished by dynamite, mangled by magnets, battered by boulders, trampled by trains, tricked by tunnels, sprung by springs, steamrolled by steamrollers, maligned by misfires, bedeviled by bungees, rattled by rockets, backstabbed by bat suits, rocked by rocket skates, upended by unicycles, quaked by quake pills, rubberized by rogue bands, and hurled headlong off every cliff in the Southwest, Wile E. Coyote (Genius) finally fights back in Coyote vs. ACME.
Teaming up with billboard accident lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte), he takes on slick corporate counsel Buddy Crane (John Cena) and ACME, Inc., the profit-obsessed conglomerate behind every one of the Coyote’s chaotic catastrophes.
Directed by Green from a script by Samy Burch, the movie stars Will Forte, Lana Condor, John Cena, P. J. Byrne, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly, Luis Guzmán, Eric Bauza, and Merrie Melodies.
Coyote vs. ACME arrives in theaters on August 28.