Warner Bros has been going on a fender bender on shelving completed movies and now games from its property in controversial cost cutting measures this year. These decisions not only upset the creators of the content, but also the fans who enjoy them or want to see them. Take the controversy surrounding the movie Coyote vs Acme, a live action animated hybrid featuring Wile E. Coyote, suing the ACME corporation. The film starred John Cena and Will Forte with voices from Eric Bauza. The film was going to be mostly in traditional 2D animation, similar to the style of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Looney Tunes - Back in Action or 2021's Tom & Jerry. Multiple test screenings were held but despite positive reception, WB refused to release the completed movie and were keen to eye it as a tax write off. Despite WBD CEO David Zaslav not actually bothering to see the film in the first place. It would have come out in July 2023, but was replaced by Barbie instead .
While it's unclear as to what the future holds for Coyote vs Acme, nothing has been announced officially by Warner Bros themselves. Maybe they fear further backlash if they announce that they had already shelved the movie? As they revealed a $115 million tax write off at the end of their Q4 meeting back in February, without listing what films were included. Stephen King's latest completed movie, Salem's Lot, seems likely to have also been shelved as well.
Many fans around the world including actors from these movies, specially Coyote VS Acme, have started a global movement #ReleaseCoyoteVsAcme, in the hopes of the film to be released.
A few days ago, a large plot synopsis of Coyote was leaked online, giving others hope that one day the full movie could be leaked on the internet. Actor Steven Ray Byrd, who appears in Coyote vs Acme went on Twitter to confirm that although the plot synopsis missed several key features it was mostly accurate including his appearances.
However, in 2024 another upcoming Looney Tunes movie is overshadowed by the Coyote vs Acme drama, "The Day The Earth Blew Up" is a fully animated 2D theatrical film that is very certainly coming out this year. which stars the iconic comedy duo Porky Pig and Daffy Duck.
In early March, the director announced it was fully completed and ready to be released. Many fans were worried that Warner Bros would shelve this movie as well, but they sold off this film to GMF Animation last year, so they are not able to shelve it. This movie will be the first time a fully 2D animated Looney Tunes film hits theaters and Warner Bros should be watching this movie very carefully.
For whatever reason, this current iteration of WB including the CEO, David Zaslav, seems to hate the Looney Tunes. Not only did they sell off "The Day The Earth Blew Up", they also shelved "Coyote vs Acme" despite widespread praise from actors, audiences, film directors and fans. It's the third film Warner Bros had shelved within 2 years, following another animated film 'Scoob 2 - Holiday Haunt' and the live action 'Batgirl' movie, both scheduled to be released in 2022.
These 'tax write off' methods are supposed to help Warner Bros save a bit of money to not pay taxes, but to me it would make sense to release the movies and gain a lot more money back from them. They only seem to damage the corporation's image and reputation over anything else.
If the movie "The Day The Earth Blew Up!" is successful at the box office, this would make Warner Bros feel red-faced, and they should reconsider putting Coyote vs Acme back on the market. We should all be watching. I'm not sure why GMF didn't bother to pick up Coyote VS Acme when it was on sale, but the asking price probably could have been to high. Imagine if WB just released the film and got more money back from all this nonsense in the first place.
In 2024, the upcoming Spongebob spin off movie - Sandy Cheeks - Saving Bikini Bottom got leaked on X (Formerly known as Twitter) in its entirety. While this surprised and confused fans, many hope similar things happen to Coyote Vs Acme if it isn't released. One way or the other, if The Day The Earth Blew Up becomes successful, hopefully this can send a clear message to Warner Bros.
"The Day The Earth Blew Up - A Looney Tunes Movie" releases in Cinemas later this year at an unknown date.
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