Posted in: Movies, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: looney tunes

Looney Tunes Deserves Better: Where's the Love, Warner Bros & Fans?

Between the numbers for The Day the Earth Blew Up and what Warner Bros. Discovery is doing over on Max - where's all the Looney Tunes love?

So, there are some mixed signals being sent to our favorite characters in the Looney Tunes universe – Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, in particular. As folks continue pressuring Warner Bros. Discovery to release Coyote vs Acme (and rightfully so), this weekend saw the release of Warner Bros. Animation and Ketchup Entertainment's The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. While the final numbers come in on Monday, Sunday's box office numbers show that Daffy and Porky's battle with some pesky aliens with some big plans pulled in $3.2 million, putting in fifth in terms of the U.S. box office. The number doesn't appear to be exactly in line with the level of social media buzz that there was about the film in the two weeks leading up to its release (Warner Bros. Animation produced the animated film, while Ketchup Entertainment distributed it). Of course, that's a nice way of saying that a lot of folks didn't live up to their social media outrage and actually buy a ticket (let's see how the second weekend goes). Meanwhile, Daffy, Porky, Bug Bunny, and the rest of the Looney Tunes universe had to endure another righteous indignation – and this one came from Warner Bros. Discovery via Max.

Sadly, Warner Bros. Discovery removing films and shows for a wide variety of reasons is just one of those things that we've come to expect – but never accept. That said, the timing of removing Looney Tunes programming heading into the same weekend that a major Looney Tunes film is premiering is getting perceived, at best, as small and petty – at worst, like WBD is actively looking to torpedo the film's success. The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie storyboard artist and writer Michael James Ruocco took to social media to share some thoughts on WBD's move regarding Looney Tunes programming on Max and their film's weekend release – making a connection while urging fans to support the film.

"Now you can understand how n why WB didn't want to distribute our movie and were nearly so willing to kill it throughout its production. It's honestly a miracle it got released, let alone theatrically. Thanks to Ketchup for picking up the bill and giving it at least SOME kind of publicity campaign," Ruocco wrote. "Also WB's sense of comedic timing needs a lot of work. It's as if they don't care about or understand Looney Tunes or something! Also if this gives you ANY more reason to go support our movie, do it! Every ticket sale is less money going into Zaslav's pocket and instead going to the small distributor who believed in us, and reminds WB how important the Looney Tunes, and animation in general, is to the entertainment landscape."

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