Coyote vs. Acme‘s chances of being released have been addressed by one of its stars. The movie, which starred Will Forte and John Cena, is a legal comedy that blends live-action and animation, following iconic Looney Tunes character Wile E. Coyote suing the makers of the products that constantly backfire on him while attempting to capture the Road Runner. However, the planned 2023 release of Coyote vs. Acme was cancelled in 2023 so Warner Bros. Discovery could claim it as a tax writeoff. This was followed by a final “funeral screening” with the cast and crew.
ScreenRant‘s Joe Deckelmeier had the opportunity to speak with Eric Bauza (who voiced several Looney Tunes characters in the movie) while on the red carpet for the Writers Guild of America Awards, where the Bob’s Burgers episode “Saving Favorite Drive-In,” in which he provides a voice, was nominated. When asked about Coyote vs. Acme, he offered a hopeful outlook, saying that the movie could finally be released if the upcoming The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie “gets a lot of money” once it debuts in theaters on March 14. Read his full quote below:
That is the question of the year, and it’s only February! I’m going to say yes. If this movie, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie – opening March 14th, in theaters everywhere – gets a lot of money, then we might see Coyote Vs. Acme. Stranger things have happened! And if we don’t, I am going to put that movie under everyone’s seat as a DVD. No, I’m just kidding. I was just kidding, David Zaslav. You didn’t see that here!
What This Means For Coyote Vs. Acme
Its Fate Is Tied To A Questionable Movie
Conversations concerning the potential release of the cancelled movie have resurfaced multiple times since it was initially shelved, so this update from the Coyote vs. Acme star could potentially be a very positive step in the right direction. However, the movie’s release depending on the success of The Day the Earth Blew Up still leaves it in a somewhat perilous position. At the time of writing, early projections for the movie from Box Office Theory show it debuting with an opening weekend gross between $2 and $5 million, most likely landing around $3 million.
Bauza voices both Porky Pig and Daffy Duck in The Day the Earth Blew Up, an animated movie that sees the unlikely duo working together to stop an alien menace.
The Day the Earth Blew Up has a relatively low reported budget of $15 million, compared to the budgets of other recent animated releases including The Wild Robot ($78 million), The Garfield Movie ($60 million), Dog Man ($40 million), and The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim ($30 million). While this means that its break-even point is lower than those other movies, it still likely needs to earn roughly $37 million in theaters in order to turn a profit. This may not be possible, considering that its high-end domestic projections only show it earning $18 million.
Our Take On This Coyote Vs. Acme Update
The Situation Could Drag On
Ultimately, while conversations about the release of Coyote vs. Acme could continue, it seems unlikely that The Day the Earth Blew Up will move the needle. If the upcoming Looney Tunes movie fails to turn a profit, that data could be compounded with the theatrical underperformance of 2021’s Space Jam: A New Legacy (which grossed $163.7 million against a $150 million budget amid a day-and-date HBO Max streaming release) to justify the decision to keep it on the shelf.
Source: ScreenRant & Box Office Theory
