It’s official. Ketchup Entertainment has swooped in to rescue Coyote vs. Acme, the Looney Tunes hybrid comedy that Warner Bros. Discovery shelved just to get a tax write-off. Fans, as well as the film’s stars, were adamant that this movie needed to see the light of day and not be disappeared the way Batgirl was. News of the impending deal emerged earlier this month.
Ketchup Entertainment has acquired distribution rights to Coyote vs. Acme with plans for a 2026 release. The cost? Deadline reports the number to be in the $50M range, a hefty sum for the Looney Tunes-inspired movie. But then again, Ketchup saw limited success recently when it released The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie to a $3.9M debut. That film was another it acquired from WB when it was shopped around last year. Perhaps Ketchup is looking to make Looney Tunes a brand it can cultivate for itself.
Ketchup Entertainment has been around since 2011 and they have always been a distributor of smaller movies and projects that other studios have shied away from. Some of its recent output were Robert Rodriguez’s Hypnotic, Goodrich with Michael Keaton, Hellboy: The Crooked Man, Lost in Taipei with Luke Evans, and Memory starring Jessica Chastain.
“We’re thrilled to have made a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures to bring this film to audiences worldwide. ‘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,” Gareth West, CEO of Ketchup Entertainment, said in a statement.
Coyote vs. Acme was directed by Dave Green, best known for Earth to Echo and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. It stars Will Forte, John Cena, and Lana Condor, with Wile E. Coyote and other Looney Tunes characters.
