Posted in: Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: coyote vs. acme, John Cena, warner bros discovery

Coyote vs. Acme: Warner Bros. Appears To Be Reversing Its Decision

Following the backlash against the decision to shelve Coyote vs. Acme, a completed film that was testing well, for a tax write-off, new reports say the film may find a new home.

Last week, the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike ended, but what looked like it would be a good day ended up being a bit of a bad one because Warner Bros. Discovery announced that they were once again shelving an entire movie for tax write-off purposes. The last time the studio did this was in August 2022. To say that the backlash was loud would be an understatement. However, they could at least say that Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunts weren't complete, so they didn't want to put any more money into them and couldn't be shopped around. When they decided to shelve Coyote vs. Acme, that was a different decision.

This film was not only 100% complete, but it was also tested very high. There wasn't any reason for people to lie about the quality of the movie now, so if people were saying it was good, it probably is. Over the weekend, multiple reports came out about the shelving, including reports about people involved only finding out about it when publications reached out for comment. Everyone thought the ink on the contract was dry, the funeral screenings were scheduled, and there wasn't anything anyone could do until early Monday. Reports began to emerge that the backlash was loud enough that Warner Bros. would give the filmmakers of Coyote vs. Acme the chance to find another home for the film.

Sometimes Bullying Corporations Like Warner Bros. Works

It sounds like the thing that really got the ball rolling regarding Warner Bros. backtracking was in a report that The Hollywood Reporter shared today. They said that when the initial round of shelving happened back in August 2022, a filmmaker group chat was started to talk about what had just happened and how they would go about working with the studio going forward with the looming threat that their movie might be the next one to end up on the shelf for a write-off. While that initial round of shelving was seen as bad, this round was seen as even worse, with THR reporting that "several filmmakers instructed reps to cancel meetings they had on the books with Warners." Now that Warner Bros. could be walking that decision back, people might be willing to enter into talks with the studio again, but according to sources, "these filmmakers are taking a wait-and-see approach."

The fact that Coyote vs. Acme was finished and tested well set everything into motion. Sources say the film could have been testing as high as in the 90s, which some best picture contenders end up testing at. So this wasn't about "protecting any brands" like they might have said about Batgirl because, as previously stated, once they decided to write the film off, there wasn't any reason to lie about the quality. Multiple people are saying the movie is good, and today, James Gunn threw some love at the project he helped produce on social media.

It's still unclear whether or not the film will find another home, though there are rumors that plenty of studios are interested. It would be quite the thing to rub into Warner Bros.'s faces if someone else not only releases this film but gives it a prime-time release date with the backing of a full marketing push, and it does gangbusters. How much the pushback from everyday people played into Warner Bros. changing its mind will likely never be known. It could have been the power of that infamous group chat by itself, but all they needed was one or two big names to cancel meetings and cite that film as the reason to make an impact.

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