“Coyote vs. Acme,” a hybrid of animation and live action once deemed unreleasable, edged out an $80 million Jacob Elordi sci-fi adventure at the box office this weekend.
It caps a stunning revival for the animated film, which Warner Bros. shelved to use as a $30 million tax write-off before finally relenting and selling it to a little-known indie distributor, Ketchup Entertainment. Bolstered by an online rescue effort and strong reviews, “Coyote vs. Acme” debuted to $15.4 million, topping “The Dog Stars,” a $70 million Elordi vehicle that was directed by the legendary Ridley Scott. Despite its pedigree, “The Dog Stars” opened to just $8 million domestically for a fifth-place finish. It’s a huge bomb for Disney and 20th Century and one of the worst financial failures of Scott’s otherwise glittering career.
“Coyote vs. Acme,” which deploys Looney Tunes characters to satirize the kind of corporate greed it was nearly a victim of, debuted in second place. Now, its grosses are hardly blockbuster level, but Ketchup (the company’s unusual moniker is a reference to its founder’s favorite condiment) has wisely limited its financial exposure to give it a greater chance of turning a profit. It spent $50 million to acquire “Coyote vs. Acme,” but Deadline reports that Ketchup sold foreign rights for $20 million. The distributor also didn’t spend a ton on marketing.
So was Warner Bros. correct that a high-concept movie stuffed with cartoon characters was too brainy to score big at the box office? Would the studio have struggled to make back more than $70 million it spent to make “Coyote vs. Acme” and the tens of millions it would have shelled out to promote it? Possibly. But it’s not like the films that Warners went on to release this year have done much better commercially. In fact, “Coyote vs. Acme’s” opening is larger than those of many of the studio’s recent films, besting “Evil Dead Burn” ($13.7 million), “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” ($13.5 million), “The Bride!” ($7 million), and “They Will Kill You” ($4.9 million). It trails only “Wuthering Heights” ($32.8 million), “Mortal Kombat II” ($38.5 million), and “Supergirl” ($37.1 million) in terms of the inaugural weekends of Warner’s 2026 offerings.
For the team behind “Coyote vs. Acme” just getting an opportunity to share the film with audiences must feel like a miracle after David Zaslav nearly sentenced it to corporate oblivion. Having the movie actually make some decent money is just gravy.
