It looks like the Coyote vs. Acme movie starring John Cena won’t see the light of day after all. According to a report in TheWrap, the hybrid live-action/animated film hasn’t found a new distributor after Warner Bros. turned down offers from multiple would-be buyers.
This past November, Warner Bros. confirmed it was permanently shelving Coyote vs. Acme for a tax write-off. Following public outcry, the studio reversed course just days later, allowing the filmmakers to shop the project to other distributors.
However, TheWrap reports that Warner Bros. was looking for a hefty asking price, effectively torpedoing any chance of a sale. Netflix, Amazon, and Paramount reportedly submitted “handsome offers” to acquire the movie.
In a “take it or leave it” scenario, Warner Bros. held steadfast in seeking $75 – $80 million — double the amount of $35 – $40 million it would make on the tax write-off — and didn’t take any counteroffers.
All this time, Warner Bros. kept the filmmakers in the dark about specific details of the potential deals and subsequent rejections. Instead, the filmmakers were forced to find out secondhand.
What’s more, none of the four executives behind the decision to scrap Coyote vs. Acme — CEOs of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation president Bill Damaschke, and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav — have ever seen the finished product.
“They just want to get this behind them,” producer Chris DeFaria was told by a Warner Bros. executive in January. “They want to close the books.”
So, with Warner Bros. Discovery’s fourth-quarter earnings call coming up on February 23rd, it appears that the studio is just running out the clock on Coyote vs. Acme.
Should the pattern run its course, Coyote vs. Acme will be the latest nearly-completed film to be shelved by Warner Bros., which set a precedent by pulling the plug on a $90 million, Leslie Grace-starring Batgirl movie in 2022.