At least three different distributors are potentially looking to acquire Warner Bros.’ Coyote vs. Acme.
Per Deadline, Warner Bros. is reportedly seeking approximately $70 million for the rights to distribute Coyote vs. Acme, the Wile E. Coyote and John Cena-starring movie the company shelved earlier this year for a $30 million tax write-down.
According to Deadline, Netflix and Paramount have made bids to distribute the movie. Should it wind up going to Paramount, Coyote vs. Acme may receive a theatrical release.
Amazon Studios is also considering putting a bid in for the movie but has not yet reached a formal decision, while Sony and Apple have decided not to place bids.
What happened with Coyote vs. Acme?
Coyote vs. Acme was announced by Warner Bros. Pictures in 2018. Dave Green signed on to direct the movie in 2019, while the story comes from James Gunn, Jeremy Slater, and Samy Burch.
“After all of the products made by ACME Corporation backfire on Wile E. Coyote, in his pursuit of the Road Runner, he hires an equally unlucky human attorney to sue the company,” the synopsis reads. “When Wile E.’s lawyer finds out that his former law firm’s intimidating boss is ACME’s CEO, he teams up with Wile E. to win the court case against him.”
Cena was cast as the film’s antagonist in February 2022, while Will Forte and Lana Condor also joined the cast a short time later. The movie was filmed in New Mexico in 2022 and was originally intended to be released theatrically in July 2023; however, Warner Bros. removed it from its schedule in April 2022 before shelving it entirely in November 2023.
Following much public backlash, Warner Bros. decided to reverse their decision and allow Coyote vs. Acme’s filmmakers to shop the movie around at other studios.
