‘Coyote vs. Acme’ Is Finally Winning at the Box Office, Three Years After Warner Bros. Almost Killed It
Few films have had quite as dramatic a road to theaters as this one, surviving a shelving decision that would have permanently buried it before a single audience member ever got the chance to see it. What began as a tax write-off casualty has since transformed into a genuine underdog success story playing out in real time at the box office.
Warner Bros. abruptly canceled ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ back in November 2023, opting to write off the completed $70 million production rather than release it theatrically. That decision sparked significant public backlash, eventually pressuring the studio into allowing the filmmakers to shop the film to outside distributors instead of letting it disappear entirely.
That persistence is now paying off in a big way. Wile E. Coyote is challenging for the number one spot at the box office, with ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ within reach of the top ranking this weekend after Ketchup Entertainment ultimately acquired the film’s distribution rights for approximately $50 million in March 2025.
The film debuted with $15.5 million domestically over its opening weekend, marking the best opening in Ketchup Entertainment’s history as a distributor, easily surpassing the company’s previous high of $3.1 million set by 2024’s “The Day the Earth Blew Up.” Despite that modest opening compared to the film’s production budget, industry analysts have described the reception as a genuine victory given the circumstances surrounding its rocky path to release.
David A. Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe, noted that the box office numbers are fair, but the reception has been excellent, adding that the release should set up good ancillary business for kids’ viewing, where the film should ultimately recoup its investment, according to NBC News.
That framing matters given the film has consistently landed in the number two spot rather than claiming the top ranking outright, trailing behind titles like ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ during its opening weekend. Even so, the film has continued performing steadily in the weeks since its release, climbing to a domestic total of $22.5 million within its first seven days.
Based on Ian Frazier’s satirical essay “Coyote v. Acme,” the film blends live action and animation as Wile E. Coyote teams up with a personal injury attorney to sue the ACME Corporation over decades of malfunctioning products used against him in his endless pursuit of the Road Runner. The screenplay comes from Samy Burch, working from a story she developed alongside James Gunn and Jeremy Slater, with James Gunn also producing through his Troll Court Entertainment banner.
Directed by Dave Green, the film stars Will Forte, Lana Condor, John Cena, Luis Guzmán and Martha Kelly, blending its Looney Tunes legacy with a fresh live-action framing device built around the character’s long history of ACME-related misfortune.
Having originally screened footage at San Diego Comic-Con back in July before its wide theatrical release on August 28, ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ has continued building momentum well beyond its opening weekend. Given its unlikely journey from canceled write-off to genuine box office contender, the film’s ongoing performance stands as a rare example of public backlash actually reversing a studio’s decision to shelve a completed project entirely.
For a film that almost never saw the light of day, climbing toward the top of the box office charts feels like a fitting underdog ending, one that even Wile E. Coyote himself would likely appreciate after decades of persistence against impossible odds.
What do you think about Coyote vs. Acme finally becoming a box office success after almost being shelved?
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