Warner Bros.’ latest earnings call reveals the studio may have already quietly taken a tax write-off for Coyote vs. Acme, marking the movie’s official cancellation.
The live-action animation hybrid film was set to bring Looney Tunes’ Wile E. Coyote to the big screen with the beloved character suing Acme Corporation. Eric Bauza was set to reprise his role as Coyote’s voice, while Will Forte and John Cena portrayed Coyote’s and Acme’s legal teams. While viewers eagerly anticipated the movie, Warner Bros. suddenly announced in November of 2023 that it was shelving the completed Coyote vs. Acme in favor of taking a $30 million tax write-off. The decision, which came after the similar controversial cancellations of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt, sparked stiff backlash.
As a result of the backlash, including from fellow studios, Warner Bros. walked back its decision and announced it would allow the movie to be shopped out to other networks. However, insiders recently claimed that the studio was sabotaging Coyote vs. Acme‘s potential sale by rejecting handsome offers from Netflix and Paramount and asking for more than double what it would’ve received from the tax write-off. These insiders also predicted that the studio would probably dispose of the film without even announcing that it hadn’t found a home. Now, Warner Bros’ earnings call suggests it did just that.
Is Coyote vs. Acme permanently canceled?
Warner Bros. had its Q4 earnings call on February 23. There was no mention of Coyote vs. Acme, but the earnings report revealed that the studio took a $115 million write-off from several unnamed projects. The report described them as abandoned films that were part of a “strategic realignment plan associated with the Warner Bros. Pictures Animation group.” Since Coyote vs. Acme is partly animated, there’s a strong chance that its $30 million write-off is part of that $115 million sum. It also raises the question of what other mystery projects Warner Bros. abandoned for tax write-offs.
Of course, without Warner Bros.’ statement, it can’t be confirmed that the movie is officially canceled, but that $115 million doesn’t make its prospects look good. If it was written off, it marks the official end of Coyote vs. Acme. Once the studio takes the write-off, it cannot legally profit from the film whatsoever—since the tax break is a result of the theoretical lack of that money—resulting in its shelving or deletion. Meanwhile, the cast and crew appear to be just as uncertain about the film’s fate as everyone else, with Bauza still campaigning for its release on social media.
Initially, it seemed Warner Bros. couldn’t do much worse than re-shelving Coyote vs. Acme. However, the studio may have managed to make its actions even more egregious if it truly canceled the movie and has no plans to release a statement on it. The very least that the cast and crew deserved was to be notified prior to Warner Bros. taking the tax write-off. Unfortunately, the fact that no one is certain about the movie’s fate shows the studio hasn’t shown the cast and crew even the most basic respect by keeping them in the know about the status of their film.
Hopefully, the outcry will force Warner Bros. to release an official statement, but if insiders’ predictions were correct, we may simply never hear of Coyote vs. Acme again from the studio.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
