‘Coyote vs. Acme’ Scores a Rare Box Office and Critical Double Win

Few films this year have carried a backstory quite as unusual as the one now playing out for Warner Bros.’ long-shelved animated comedy. What started as an internal casualty of studio cost-cutting has transformed into one of 2026’s most unlikely theatrical success stories, defying nearly every expectation set for it since its original cancellation.

That film is ‘Coyote vs. Acme,’ the live-action/animated hybrid built around Wile E. Coyote’s decades-long feud with the Acme Corporation, which finally reached theaters after years of uncertainty. Directed by Dave Green and starring Will Forte as a lawyer representing the perpetually unlucky coyote in a lawsuit against Acme, the film’s journey to release became almost as talked-about as the movie itself.

Now that journey has paid off in dramatic fashion. ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ opened to more than $30 million globally over its debut weekend, a number that arrives alongside genuinely striking critical and audience reception, including a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes, a 94% audience score, and an A CinemaScore from opening-weekend crowds.

That combination of numbers represents a rare alignment in modern moviegoing, where box office success and critical acclaim don’t always move in the same direction. For a film that Warner Bros. Discovery had originally written off entirely as a tax-related cancellation back in 2023, the reversal in fortune stands as a genuine underdog story within the industry.

The film’s rescue came courtesy of Ketchup Entertainment, the independent distributor that acquired the rights for a reported $50 million after sustained backlash from fans and filmmakers alike over the original shelving decision. That backlash proved influential enough to eventually change the project’s fate entirely, turning what was meant to be a permanent write-off into an actual theatrical release.

The film’s opening also marked a franchise-best debut for Ketchup Entertainment, more than quadrupling the distributor’s previous high-water mark set by 2024’s ‘The Day the Earth Blew Up,’ which opened to just $3.1 million. That kind of jump underscores just how much pent-up demand had built for the film during its years in limbo.

Beyond Forte, the cast includes John Cena, Lana Condor and Eric Bauza, blending live-action performances with classic Looney Tunes animation in a format that critics have widely praised for successfully modernizing the beloved slapstick formula without losing its original charm. The strong PostTrak definite recommend numbers alongside its Rotten Tomatoes score suggest the reception isn’t just positive, but genuinely enthusiastic across both critics and general audiences.

Director Dave Green publicly celebrated the release by thanking the fans whose persistent campaign helped save the film, framing the theatrical debut as a shared victory between the filmmakers and the audience that refused to let the project die quietly. Given how rare it is for a shelved studio film to not only see release but actually thrive commercially and critically, ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ has quickly become one of the more heartening stories of this year’s box office landscape.

With strong word of mouth already building on top of its impressive opening numbers, the film appears well-positioned to keep drawing audiences well beyond its debut weekend.

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