Warner Bros is reportedly now allowing the filmmakers of ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ shop the movie to other potential distributors after the backlash

Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Warner Bros is reportedly now allowing the filmmakers of ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ shop the movie to other potential distributors after the backlash.

BenDavid Grabinski, co-creator and showrunner of the upcoming Netflix anime Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, was among the creators who criticized Warner Bros for scrapping the movie before it could even see the light of day.

“COYOTE V ACME is a great movie,” Grabinski said. “The best of its kind since ROGER RABBIT. It’s commercial. It tested well. The leads are super likable. It’s beautifully shot. The animation is great. The ending makes everyone f****** cry. I thought the goal of this business was to make hit movies?” Grabinski wrote.

Was told Warner Bros. will now let the filmmakers of Coyote vs. Acme shop the movie to other potential distributors. That’s a big about-face from earlier this week, when Warners said that the long-finished $70 million Looney Tunes film, directed by Dave Green and starring John Cena, Will Forte and a C.G.I. Wile E. Coyote, would be shelved indefinitely without any ability to place it elsewhere, à la the infamous Batgirl and Scoob! sequel.  

Warners declined to comment, but a good source tells me the decision was made this weekend by Warners film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, along with new animation head Bill Damaschke, after the online outcry by filmmakers and the animation community, as well as some heated back-and-forth between the studio and reps for the director and stars. Warners had agreed to pay the top talent their streaming bonuses despite the film being scrapped, but obviously, everyone involved in this project wants it to be released by someone.

Coyote vs. Acme is another sign of these weird times, one of those caught-in-the-middle-of-two-strategies movies that was greenlit by Toby Emmerich back in December 2020, when the mandate from WarnerMedia leadership was to make as much product as possible for streaming, cost be damned. When current C.E.O. David Zaslav took over, $70 million direct-to-Max movies went bye-bye, so Warners pivoted to theaters. But some internally questioned whether the film played theatrically enough. Contrary to Green’s claim on social media that the film “was embraced by test audiences who rewarded us with fantastic scores,” it actually didn’t test that well, I’m told. And Damaschke, who is formulating his own strategy for Looney Tunes, feared the brand damage of an underperforming film, especially on the heels of Space Jam: A New Legacy grossing only $163 million worldwide. So they scrapped it. Another source who’s seen the movie said it’s definitely good enough to take a swing in theaters, but Warners is understandably gun-shy these days, given its financial situation.

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SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland (C) raises his fist while speaking at the conclusion of picketing outside Paramount Studios on day 113 of their strike against the Hollywood studios on November 3, 2023, in Los Angeles, California.