Coyote Vs. Acme Being Screened by Amazon Prime, Apple and Netflix for Potential Acquisition

Th-th-th-that's not all for Coyote vs. Acme, folks. Warner Bros. shelved the live-action/animated Looney Tunes movie to take a reported $30 million tax write-down, vaulting the $72-million project rather than shop it to other studios or streamers. (The previous WarnerMedia regime greenlit Coyote vs. Acme in December 2020, originally slating it for a streaming release on HBO Max before dating it for a July 21, 2023, bow in theaters. That date eventually went to Warners' blockbuster Barbie.) The online reaction was fast and furry-ous: filmmakers and fans alike spoke out against the studio's decision to axe the movie one year after it shelved Batgirl and the animated Scoob! Holiday Haunt as part of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav's cost-cutting measures. 

Following a report that Warner Bros. reversed course to allow the filmmakers to shop Coyote vs. Acme to other distributors rather than scrap it entirely, Deadline reports that potential buyers include streamers Amazon Prime Video, Apple, and Netflix. Screenings for the completed movie will take place this week after what the outlet reports was a deluge of "angry" phone calls from filmmakers and talent representatives.

According to Deadline, no deals are currently in place to acquire Coyote vs. Acme, but Amazon has emerged as a leading contender because former Warner Bros. exec Courtenay Valenti, Head of Film, Streaming and Theatrical for Amazon Studios and MGM, championed Coyote during her three-decade tenure at the Burbank-based studio. Amazon is no stranger to acquiring content from rival streamers and studios: it previously purchased DC's animated holiday movie Merry Little Batman and the animated series Bat-Family and Batman: Caped Crusader after they were scrapped at Warner Bros. Discovery.

Based on the 1990 New Yorker humor article "Coyote v. Acme" by Ian Frazier, the movie adaptation is directed by Dave Green (the live-action/CG hybrid Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows) and stars John Cena (Peacemaker), Lana Condor (To All the Boys I've Loved Before), and Will Forte (Saturday Night Live). DC Studios co-head James Gunn (The Suicide Squad) co-wrote the story and serves as producer.

In a statement released on Thursday, Green said Coyote vs. Acme was "embraced by test audiences who rewarded us with fantastic scores." A studio spokesperson said that Coyote didn't align with Warner Bros. Discovery's pivot away from straight-to-streaming movies in favor of the exclusive theatrical window. ("We do not believe in streaming movies," Zaslav told exhibitors at CinemaCon earlier this year.)

"With the re-launch of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation in June, the studio has shifted its global strategy to focus on theatrical releases," the spokesperson said in a statement. "With this new direction, we have made the difficult decision not to move forward with Coyote vs Acme. We have tremendous respect for the filmmakers, casts, and crew, and are grateful for their contributions to the film."

That new direction includes The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, the first-ever fully animated Looney Tunes feature-length movie that was once canceled at HBO Max (since renamed Max). Warner Bros. Animation partnered with GFM Animation to bring the Daffy Duck and Porky Pig-starring sci-fi adventure exclusively to theaters in late 2024.