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Posted in: Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: coyote vs. acme
Coyote vs. Acme: John Cena Wishes It Was "Given A Chance"
John Cena says that he wishes Coyote vs. Acme was "given a chance," but that he hopes the film was shelved "for the right reasons."
Article Summary
- John Cena laments that Warner Bros. shelved Coyote vs. Acme despite positive test screenings.
- Cena shares his belief that the film was shelved for valid business reasons, although he regrets not seeing its release.
- Coyote vs. Acme was one of several films shelved for tax breaks, stirring criticism from the industry.
- Warner Bros. continues to face backlash for shelving completed films, impacting their reputation.
Coyote vs. Acme was yet another bad decision feather that Warner Bros. added to its hat back in November 2023. It was yet another movie that the company was shelving not because it was bad, it was testing exceptionally well, but because they wanted tax breaks. People got mad and got loud, but the problem with these sorts of write-offs is that once it happens, the film cannot be released without Warner Bros. paying back the credit they got. It's fascinating that a company with its own streaming platform can't find a place for completed films. Several stars and crew members have spoken about the movie since it was shelved, and John Cena is the latest. He is currently doing press for his new movie Jackpot! and spoke to The Wrap about the film and how it all comes down to business.
"There's a lot there. And everyone's perspective is different. We don't own the film. That's the tough part about this business, you do have a sense of ownership because you invest heart and soul," Cena explained. "And [director] Dave Green and everybody involved, we made what we thought was a good movie."
Cena explained that he wished Coyote vs. Acme had been given a chance. However, he had to believe that the movie was shelved for the right reasons, and it seems to want to have that belief because if it was shelved for the wrong reason, then the business he's working in is fundamentally broken in a terrible way.
"I would have liked to seen it given a chance. But I'm just one person. And if it was shelved, I would have to think that it was shelved for the right reasons and it was a good business decision," he continued. "I think I would have tremendous regret and shame if I look back on the legacy of the movie and it was shelved for reasons other than that. … So I have to believe in the process. And I love the movie, my heart and soul is in there, but it's somebody else's project to do what they want with and they've chosen accordingly."
The movie is fundamentally broken in a couple of different ways, and shelving movies like Coyote vs. Acme, Batgirl, and Scoob! Holiday Haunts while nuking archives like Cartoon Network are just some of the bad decisions the studio continues to make. They were off to an excellent start at the box office, too, with Dune: Part Two and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire doing well at the box office, but they lost all momentum over the summer. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the film the studio is leaning on to kick the fall season off with a bang, with Joker: Folie à Deux coming out in October.
Coyote vs. Acme And Warner Bros.'s Being The Worst
One could say things started all the way back in August 2022 when Scoob! Holiday Haunt and Batgirl, two films that were either very close to finishing production or in post-production, were canceled due to tax purposes. At the time, the backlash was pretty loud [mostly for Batgirl, which is a shame because Scoob! is just as tragic], and you would think executives would learn from their mistakes and wouldn't pull a stunt like that again.
Fast forward to November 2023, and it's apparent no one is learning lessons anymore, as Warner Bros. Discovery shelved Coyote vs. Acme for tax purposes. The reaction was just as loud, and while it sounded like there was a chance the film could end up at another studio or streamer, a massive report released earlier this month by The Wrap revealed that Warner Bros. went into negotiations in what appeared to be bad faith. Executives who had never seen the final film put the nails in the coffin, and it honestly looked like the film would be lost. Since then, several actors and people who have worked on the film have expressed how upset they are that the film was shelved the way it was. Warner Bros. continues to make the worst possible business decisions in a real-world, real-time example of "fucking around and finding out."
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