Warner Bros. will not release the Coyote vs. Acme film starring John Cena despite the project being completed and the movie testing well with audiences.
The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline were among those reporting Thursday that Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery, was scrapping the movie in favor of taking a $30 million tax write-off on the $70 million to $72 million cost of the project, a similar tact that the company took with a Batgirl film that was also not released as originally planned.
Coyote vs. Acme was an animated and live-action hybrid in the style of Who Framed Roger Rabbit with Cena starring in the film directed by Dave Green and produced by James Gunn.
Deadline says that the movie received test scores 14 points higher than the average family film with audiences, and calls the decision not to release it "another maneuver by the David Zaslav-run Warner Bros. Discovery to kill movies."
Deadline wrote:
We’re told that the cash-strapped Warners finds that it’s not worth the cost to release the film theatrically or to sell to other buyers (and there are parties who are interested for their own streaming services; we hear Amazon kicked the tires). After reporting a mixed third quarter, the best means for Warners money is a tax write-off. At one point, Coyote vs. Acme was dated for theatrical release on July 21, 2023, before getting pulled; that date was taken by Barbie, which went on to become Warner Bros’ biggest hit of all-time at $1.4 billion worldwide.
After losing to Solo Sikoa in dominant fashion at last Saturday's Crown Jewel event and with the SAG-AFTRA strike now over, it is presumed that Cena's most recent WWE run has come to an end.
Cena posted on Instagram Thursday with an image that could be referencing Coyote vs. Acme being locked away, or stepping away from WWE with the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike: