Let’s all say a celebratory “meep meep!” For the first time in a really, really long time, Looney Tunes fans have escaped the giant anvil that David Zaslav had hanging over their heads. Warner Bros. has officially sold Coyote Vs. Acme, which was shelved to the great ire of the animation community for a WBD tax write off back in 2023. No one—including the film’s cast—thought the hybrid cartoon/live-action adventure would escape the painted wall tunnel it had been trapped in, until a small distributor called Ketchup Entertainment took a left turn at Albuquerque to ferry it away to safety.
Two weeks ago, Deadline reported that Warner Bros. was “deep in sale negotiations” with Ketchup for rights to the film. The deal officially closed this week somewhere in the $50 million range, per the outlet. After all that heartache, fans—and a bunch of people who worked on the film who still haven’t been able to see the final project—will finally experience Coyote Vs. Acme in theaters sometime in 2026.
“We’re thrilled to have made a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures to bring this film to audiences worldwide,” Ketchup CEO Gareth West said in a statement. “Coyote Vs. Acme is a perfect blend of nostalgia and modern storytelling, capturing the essence of the beloved Looney Tunes characters while introducing them to a new generation. We believe it will resonate with both longtime fans and newcomers alike.”
With this deal, Ketchup continues to position itself as the great savior the beloved franchise oddly seems to need. Last year, the company also rescued The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie from a similar fate. That film is currently playing in theaters; to date, it’s made $10 million internationally, per Box Office Mojo.
Coyote Vs. Acme was directed by David Green and written by May December‘s Samy Burch. Featuring Will Forte, John Cena, and Lana Condor, it was a “movie that should be seen, but won’t,” per a loving tribute Forte posted on Instagram last year. Finally, Coyote managed to turn his luck around.