Films can be left unfinished or unreleased for a variety of reasons, but it's rare for one to come back from the dead.
asserted
one → leave → dead
This week, Coyote vs. Acme will conclude its long journey to Aussie cinemas, having previously looked deader than a cartoon coyote trapped under a comically oversized boulder.
So how did this Looney Tunes spin-off finally make it to the big screen, and why is its resurrection such a big deal?
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resurrection → conclude → screen
The film tells the story of the down-on-his-luck animated carnivore Wile E. Coyote and his legal battle with Acme, whose products have repeatedly failed him in his quest to catch his nemesis, the Road Runner.
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products → tell → nemesis
The comedy combines its Looney Tunes stars with a flesh-and-blood cast, including Will Forte and John Cena, in a style reminiscent of the semi-animated film noir classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
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Who → combine → Rabbit
The real-world spin on the failures of Wile E. Coyote stems from a spoof New Yorker article from 1990 by Ian Frazier, in which he imagines Mr Coyote launching a civil suit against Acme seeking just over $US38 million in damages and compensation for "personal injuries, loss of business income, and mental suffering caused as a direct result of the actions and/or gross negligence of said company".
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Coyote → stem → company
So, what happened to the film?
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what → happen → film
Dave Green (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows) signed on as director in late 2019, and Coyote vs. Acme began filming the live-action scenes in early 2022.
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Coyote → sign → 2022
British special effects house DNEG, which also worked on Denis Villeneuve's Dune trilogy, began work on the film's hybrid 2D and 3D animation effects, and the film was set for a July 21, 2023, release.
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film → work → release
The film studio Warner Bros quietly handed that release date off to Barbie instead, and Coyote vs. Acme languished on the shelf.
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Acme → hand → shelf
Then on November 9, 2023, Warner Bros announced that even though the film was finished, it had no plans ever to release it.
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it → announce → it
According to a Deadline.com article from the time, Warner Bros. execs decided that rather than shell out another $US40 million ($55.7 million) to promote the $US70 million film, they'd cut their losses and ditch it as a $US30 million tax write-off.
uncertain
they → accord → off
What was most perplexing, aside from the fact the movie was scrapped despite already being finished, was that it had been shown at test screenings where audiences had responded positively to it.
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audiences → scrap → it
It was the third time Warner Bros. had done this, having also shelved the DC superhero outing Batgirl and the animated Scooby-Doo prequel Scoob! Holiday Haunt in August 2022, although both those films were unfinished.
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films → do → August
Perhaps most damningly, according to Hollywood industry website The Wrap, the four Warner executives responsible for axing Coyote vs. Acme "hadn't even seen the finished version of the movie", noting the film had been "greenlit by a previous regime".
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film → accord → regime
Burying films made by a studio's former heads is a classic Hollywood move.
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Burying → bury → heads
Back in 1988, Terry Gilliam's underrated The Adventures of Baron Munchausen scored glowing reviews and four Oscar nominations but became the biggest box office bomb of all time, purely because the new heads at Columbia Studios buried and under-promoted the film's release as revenge against their predecessors (and Gilliam).
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heads → score → predecessors
But axing a completed film as a tax write-off was something totally new.
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axing → ax → off
The cast and crew of Coyote vs. Acme were blindsided and outraged by the decision to ditch the film.
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cast → blindside → film
Composer Steven Price called the move "bizarre anti-art studio financial shenanigans I will never understand", while another crew member described it to Rolling Stone as "deflating and frustrating".
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member → call → Stone
Other creatives suggested they would think twice about working with Warner Bros., with some reportedly cancelling meetings with the studio.
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some → suggest → studio
The internet, as usual, was angry — cue the obligatory hashtags (#ReleaseCoyoteVsAcme and #SaveCoyoteVsAcme).
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internet → cue → hashtags
The outrage was short and sharp, and within four days, Warner Bros had relented somewhat, instead agreeing to let the filmmakers shop the film around to find a new distributor.
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filmmakers → relent → distributor
After several months of Warner Bros rejecting suitors (including Netflix, Paramount and Amazon), there were fears the studio's backflip was a ruse.
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backflip → reject → Netflix
The Wrap reported Warner Bros had called the film's producers and suggested they better find a buyer soon (despite Warner being in charge of the price and the rejections).
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Warner → report → price
The implication from The Wrap was that if they didn't make a deal, the studio would "unceremoniously delete (Coyote vs. Acme) … never to be seen again".
But somehow, the filmmakers persevered, and the film endured, spurred on by the continuous online burblings, public statements by the cast and crew, and a growing mystique around this "lost" movie.
Finally, on March 31, 2025, Deadline reported that indie distributor Ketchup Entertainment had bought Coyote vs. Acme, with the aim of a 2026 release.
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Entertainment → make → release
That's all, folks
The saga has proven to be a monumental PR misfire for Warner Bros., and better publicity than money could buy.
While far from a runaway blockbuster, it's already made more money than Warner Bros intended to recoup from its tax write-off manoeuvre.
The film has grossed $US65 million worldwide, including close to $50 million in the US, and has yet to roll out in many countries.
Ahead of its US opening, critic aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has the film at a remarkable 96 per cent "Fresh" rating from 264 reviews (for comparison, Toy Story 5 is 93 per cent "Fresh" from about 320 reviews).
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Story → prove → reviews
Australian audiences will get their opportunity to see what all the fuss is about this week.
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fuss → get → what
But in the end, it seems Wile E. Coyote has finally achieved something he never could in the old Looney Tunes cartoons — a win.
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he → seem → cartoons
And perhaps the film has extra resonance now, because of its struggles.
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film → have → struggles
As the film's editor, Carsten Kurpanek, put it, maybe Warner Bros. weren't worried about the film bombing, but about its message.
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Bros. → put → message
"#CoyoteVsAcme is about a giant corporation choosing stock over empathy, doing nothing 'illegal' but morally shady stuff for profit," Kurpanek tweeted.
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Kurpanek → choose → profit
"No wonder Warner (didn't) want to #releasecoyoteVsACME."
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Warner → want → ?
The Aporia