‘Coyote vs. Acme’ Crosses $100 Million at the Box Office in a Stunning Underdog Comeback
Hollywood loves an underdog story, but few films this year have embodied that narrative quite as literally as this one. What started as a completed movie destined for the vault has instead become one of the more unlikely box office success stories of the year, defying a studio decision that nearly kept it from audiences entirely.
The film’s journey to theaters was anything but conventional, marked by cancellation, public outcry, and an eventual rescue that felt more like a plot twist than typical industry business. That backstory has only added weight to what’s now become a genuine milestone for the project and everyone who fought to see it released.
‘Coyote vs. Acme’ has officially surpassed $100,000,000 at the global box office, according to recent reporting, marking a remarkable turnaround for a film Warner Bros. had originally planned to shelve entirely for tax purposes. The live-action and animation hybrid, based on Ian Frazier’s 1990 story that ran in The New Yorker, was rescued by independent distributor Ketchup Entertainment after Warner Bros. abandoned its release plans in 2023.
The movie was actually completed back in 2022, only for Warner Bros. to announce a year later that it would be shelved rather than released, sparking significant backlash from filmmakers, artists, and animation fans who saw the decision as wasteful. Ketchup Entertainment eventually stepped in and acquired the film’s worldwide distribution rights for a reported $50,000,000, giving the completed project a second chance at reaching audiences.
That gamble has clearly paid off. Crossing the nine-figure mark puts ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ well ahead of expectations for a film that many industry observers initially wrote off entirely, given how publicly Warner Bros. had signaled its lack of confidence in the project.
The team behind the film’s marketing campaign celebrated the achievement in a joint statement. “We’ve been so proud to be part of the Ketchup Entertainment team for the past three years, and ‘Coyote Vs Acme’ was a labor of love for all of us. Congratulations to Gareth and the entire Ketchup team on reaching the incredible $100 million global box office milestone,” said Amanda Lundberg and Tom Piechura of 42West, according to Yahoo Entertainment.
“It’s a tremendous achievement, and we’re thrilled to celebrate the milestone with Ketchup Entertainment, filmmakers, cast and fans, as well as our colleagues who worked on the film,” the statement continued. That sentiment reflects just how personally invested the marketing and distribution teams became in the film’s underdog journey toward theatrical release.
Wile E. Coyote makes his case in this exclusive clip from #CoyoteVsAcme – Only in theaters August 28.
— Fandango (@Fandango) August 6, 2026
Tickets on sale now at Fandango! https://t.co/gSyeamKpUh pic.twitter.com/I1zgR1szTr
‘Coyote vs. Acme’ reimagines the classic Looney Tunes dynamic between Wile E. Coyote and the Acme Corporation through a live-action and animated hybrid lens. The story follows Wile E. Coyote teaming up with a billboard accident lawyer to take on Acme’s slick corporate counsel, finally seeking justice for decades of chaotic mishaps at the company’s hands.
Directed by Dave Green from a screenplay by Samy Burch, the film stars Will Forte, Lana Condor, and John Cena, with a story credited to James Gunn, Jeremy Slater, and Burch. Gunn also produced the film alongside Chris DeFaria, giving the project a direct connection to one of the industry’s most vocal advocates for its release during the shelving controversy.
Perhaps most notably, ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ has now surpassed Warner Bros.’ own legacy sequel ‘Practical Magic 2,’ starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, which sat at $76,800,000 worldwide after its second weekend. That comparison carries a particular irony, given that the studio poured significant star power and marketing behind its sequel while nearly discarding the smaller Looney Tunes-inspired project entirely.
With a reported production budget of $70,000,000 covered by Warner Bros. before Ketchup’s $50,000,000 rights acquisition, the film’s path to profitability remains complicated by traditional box office math. Still, crossing $100,000,000 represents a significant symbolic victory for a project that industry insiders once assumed audiences would never get the chance to see.
The film’s box office success stands as a powerful reminder of what can happen when audiences and industry professionals alike push back against a studio’s decision to bury finished work. For everyone who spoke out against the original shelving plan, watching ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ cross $100,000,000 offers a genuinely satisfying vindication.
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