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‘Coyote vs. Acme’ Has Officially Overtaken 5 of Warner Bros.’s 2026 Releases
Coyote vs. Acme, an animated and live-action hybrid Looney Tunes film, has become a box office success story that vindicates audiences' faith in the project. The film's continued strong performance demonstrates that Warner Bros.' decision to shelve it as a tax write-off was premature, with the studio's lack of confidence in the picture now appearing as a significant misjudgement.
The film has earned over £80 million worldwide (approximately £55 million domestically) and has now surpassed five other Warner Bros. 2026 releases, including Practical Magic 2, The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, The End of Oak Street, and They Will Kill You. After the backlash to its original shelving, distribution rights were acquired by Ketchup Entertainment for £50 million, allowing the film to reach audiences despite the studio's initial mishandling of its commercial prospects.
In short
- Coyote vs. Acme outgrossed five Warner Bros. 2026 releases despite being shelved
- Film earned over £80 million worldwide; £55 million domestically
- Warner Bros.' decision to write off the film proved commercially mistaken
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The film’s reported box office success suggests Warner Bros. may have undervalued its audience appeal when it shelved the project, and the backlash indicates that viewers wanted the chance to see it. Its performance after Ketchup Entertainment acquired the rights supports the case that shelving a completed film can sacrifice both potential revenue and audience trust.
The case against
A strong box office result does not by itself prove that Warner Bros. made an unreasonable decision at the time: the studio may have weighed costs, risks and expected returns using information that was not available to later distributors. The film’s eventual performance under different distribution conditions also cannot establish how it would have fared under Warner Bros.’ original plans, so the shelving decision may have reflected a commercial judgement rather than simple lack of confidence.
Explained simply
Looney Tunes is a long-running series of cartoons featuring characters such as Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. In this film, Coyote takes the Acme Corporation, whose gadgets repeatedly fail him in the cartoons, to court; the story combines animation with live-action scenes.
Warner Bros. is the studio behind Looney Tunes and several other major film releases. It shelved the completed film in 2023, saying the decision would provide a tax benefit, and later sold its distribution rights to Ketchup Entertainment, which arranged its release.
The case drew attention to how studios decide whether to release or set aside completed films, and to the role tax rules can play in those decisions. Comparing its reported earnings with other Warner Bros. releases gives a measure of its commercial performance.