Two years after Warner Bros. planned to shelve the flick for a $30 billion tax write-off, Coyote vs. Acme is set for its long-awaited theatrical release, and it’s already proving to be a hit among critics.
Review embargoes for the film were lifted on August 12, 2026, and the response was a resoundingly positive one. Over on Rotten Tomatoes — perhaps the most popular review aggregator in the modern-day movie landscape — Coyote vs. Acme debuted to a perfect 100% score, tying a nice little bow on the lengthy legal saga that hung over it like a dark rain cloud for so long.
Hours later, that score has since dropped to a 94% on the Tomatometer, but the overall consensus is still overwhelmingly favorable. Thus far, only two outlets have panned the project in their reviews, with Variety’s Owen Gleiberman saying it “feels neutered and tame” compared to past Looney Tunes flicks and Screen International’s Tim Grierson calling its screenplay “lackluster.”
Here at IGN, we couldn’t disagree more; we scored Coyote vs. Acme a 9 out of 10, with reviewer Clint Gage saying it “shows why Looney Tunes are just as funny now as they’ve ever been, with a film that’s an amazingly meta answer to corporate shenanigans.”
Those “corporate shenanigans” nearly got the movie shelved for good back in 2023. Although principal photography had been completed in 2022, the film was initially slated for an exclusive streaming release on HBO Max, which clashed with WB’s focus on theatrical releases.
What followed was a years-long battle to get the movie, which had essentially been fully completed, in the hands of a buyer — and that buyer ended up being Ketchup Entertainment, an American film distributor who finally signed a deal with Warner Bros. to give Coyote vs. Acme the theatrical release it deserved.
It won’t stop at theaters, though; speaking with IGN at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, director Dave Green “promised” that there are concrete plans in place to distribute the film on Blu-ray, along with some R-rated outtakes.
“John [Cena] is an amazing improviser,” Green told us. “The camera would keep rolling, and he would just love to entertain a room of background actors and make everyone laugh. When you don’t call ‘cut,’ there is minutes and minutes of stuff that is not PG-rated.”
Fans are happier than ever to see the project get such a favorable reception, with one writing on X: “We did it, boys and girls.”
“I’m glad this movie got rescued,” another said.
“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,” another wrote.
Coyote vs. Acme is set to release in theaters on August 28, 2026.
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.
