Ketchup Entertainment aims to revive ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ with $50 million deal

Indie outfit, Ketchup Entertainment, is currently in discussions with Warner Bros. about the latter's finished Looney Tunes comedy Coyote vs. Acme. The live-action-animated hybrid legal drama was canceled in 2023. However, according to Empire Online, the decision to cancel the film was for a tax write-off. It starred Looney Tunes' Wile E. Coyote along with Will Forte as a lawyer.

However, Deadline published an exclusive article on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, which stated that a deal may be in the works to bring the project to the big screen. Negotiations are reportedly underway, with Ketchup Entertainment looking for an all-rights acquisition of the film in the $50 million range.

The outlet noted that the pact isn't final yet and there's still a chance that it won't go through. However, if the acquisition does happen, Coyote vs. Acme could see a 2026 release in cinemas. It would also join Ketchup Entertainment's roster, which includes the thriller starring Ben Affleck, Hypnotic, Jessica Chastain's Memory, and the comic book reboot, Hellboy: The Crooked Man, among others.

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Everything to know about Coyote vs. Acme amid Ketchup Entertainment's negotiation to acquire the movie

Coyote vs. Acme was written by Samy Burch along with James Gunn, and Jeremy Slater while David Green directed it. The film follows the Looney Tunes character, Wile E. Coyote, and is based on the 1990 Coyote vs. Acme New Yorker humor article written by Ian Frazier.

The film stars Will Forte as Wile E. Coyote's lawyer while the cartoon character is voiced by Eric Bauza. In Coyote vs. Acme, Wile E. starts a legal battle against Acme Corporation, specifically the company's boss, played by John Cena. As the film continues, the friendship between the man and the cartoon grows and it only pushes their determination to win.

Former animation executive Bill Damaschketook over Warner Animation Group in 2023, and following that the company announced that it no longer had any plans to release the film. However, the studio had greenlit the project in December 2020 with plans for an HBO Max production. The Hollywood Reporter stated that while the film was slated to have a July 2023 release, it was pulled from the studio's release calendar.

The filmmakers were reportedly allowed to shop for other distributors for the film, which reportedly cost $70 million, in 2024, but it never panned out.

In January 2025, Lana Condor, who also stars in Coyote vs. Acme, spoke to ScreenRant during the Valiant One press conference. She said that she had "zero update[s]" about the film's current status.

She called Warner Bros' axing of the movie "the saddest thing ever," adding that the studio invited her to attend its "funeral screening."

"I am genuinely heartbroken that there's a world that no one will ever see it for tax purposes, I think. That's so, so sad. And when I got the news, they invited me to a funeral screening, which is the saddest thing ever."

That said, if the Coyote vs. Acme sale goes through, it wouldn't be the first time for Ketchup Entertainment to rescue a Looney Tunes film from the studio. The US distributor released The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movies in movie theaters on March 14, 2025.

The movie also finished inside the top five at the box office weekend chart alongside films like Novocaine and Black Bag, grossing $3.1 million domestically, per Box Office Mojo.

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This is a developing story. Stay tuned for more updates and news as Ketchup Entertainment's negotiation is underway, per reports.