'WE WON': Coyote vs. Acme Director Celebrates as Shelved Film Finally Reaches Theatres
Dave Green, the director of Coyote vs. Acme, celebrated the film's theatrical release on Instagram with a two-word declaration: "WE WON." The film, which Warner Bros. shelved as a tax write-off in November 2023, opens in theatres on Friday, 28 August 2026, three years after production wrapped. Deadline
Green's post carried a pointed message. "Movies don't just go away," he wrote, in what read as a direct reply to the studio decision that nearly buried his film. Deadline
The road to this release date was anything but straight. Coyote vs. Acme was originally set to premiere on 21 July 2023, but Warner Bros. bumped it from that slot to make way for Barbie. Then, in November 2023, the studio shelved the completed film entirely and took a $30 million tax write-off — a move that allows a company to declare the loss as a deduction against its tax bill rather than releasing the film and risking a poor commercial return. Deadline
What followed was a period of uncertainty for a film that was, by all accounts, finished. Live-action filming had wrapped as far back as May 2022, with cinematographer Brandon Trost behind the camera. Instagram The film sat without a release home until March 2025, when Warner Bros. completed the sale of Coyote vs. Acme to Ketchup Entertainment, an independent distributor that then set the 28 August 2026 release date. Deadline
The film's official website now lists it as playing in theatres, with tickets available for booking. coyotevsacme.com
Coyote vs. Acme follows Wile E. Coyote as he hires a billboard attorney to sue the Acme Corporation for selling him faulty products — a courtroom comedy built on the Looney Tunes characters. The screenplay was written by Samy Burch, from a story credited to James Gunn, Jeremy Slater, and Burch. The cast includes Will Forte, Lana Condor, John Cena, Luis Guzmán, and Kenneth Choi. Deadline
For a film that was written off and sold off, simply reaching a cinema screen is the headline. Whether audiences turn out for a title that spent years in studio limbo is a question only this weekend's box office can answer.
