Canceled Looney Tunes movie earns perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score
That Looney Tunes movie Warner Bros. nearly locked in a vault forever just got a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. After being completed, shelved, caught in a bizarre corporate limbo, and eventually rescued by another distributor, 'Coyote vs. Acme' is finally getting its moment. And critics appear to think Wile E. Coyote deserves the comeback.
The movie Warner Bros. almost deleted from existence
When Coyote vs. Acme was first shelved in 2023, it became one of Hollywood's strangest lost movies. The film had already finished principal photography in 2022. But Warner Bros. had originally planned to release it on HBO Max, and its strategy later moved toward theatrical movies.
Instead of simply releasing the finished film, Warner Bros. put it on the shelf while searching for a buyer.
Then Rotten Tomatoes happened
Review embargoes lifted on August 12, and the early reviews came flying in. Coyote vs. Acme initially debuted with a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. That did not last forever, as the score later slipped to 94%, but that's still an extremely strong result.
So far, only two outlets have given the movie negative reviews. Variety critic Owen Gleiberman called it “neutered and tame” compared with previous Looney Tunes movies, while Screen International's Tim Grierson criticized its screenplay. Everyone else seems considerably more enthusiastic. And that includes IGN, which gave the movie 9/10, praising it as a surprisingly meta response to corporate Hollywood nonsense.
Fans are celebrating the release
The reaction from fans has been predictably joyful. After years of wondering whether they'd ever get to see the movie, viewers are now celebrating the fact that “Coyote vs. Acme” escaped the Warner Bros. vault.
"Mind you, we were almost robbed of this masterpiece. So, thank you Ketchup Distribution for saving this film, 'cause we wouldn't have it any other way," a fan wrote on X.
"I'm glad this movie got rescued,” another commented.
The excitement is understandable. There aren't many movies that get finished, nearly disappear, become the subject of an internet-wide "release this movie" campaign, find a new distributor and then emerge with critics throwing around 90%-plus scores. That is quite the redemption arc.
You'll be able to own it
There is another piece of good news for physical-media nerds. Director Dave Green told IGN at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 that a Blu-ray release is planned. Even better, the home release is expected to include some of John Cena's more unhinged outtakes.
According to Green, Cena would keep improvising while the cameras were rolling, entertaining the background actors with material that definitely wasn't PG-rated. So somewhere out there is a pile of John Cena/Wile E. Coyote-adjacent chaos that Warner Bros. apparently wasn't ready to unleash on children. We need that Blu-ray.
Source: IGN
