The Rotten Tomatoes score for Coyote vs. Acme has given the previously canceled story a redemption arc. The Looney Tunes movie hit a record ahead of its theatrical release, earning positive reviews from critics who attended early screenings.
Coyote vs. Acme has received a 94% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing this article. The film is helmed by Dave Green from a story by Samy Burch, James Gunn, and Jeremy Slater, based on Ian Frazier’s magazine article.
The movie had been in development for years at Warner Bros. as a streaming original for HBO Max. However, after production was completed, the live-action animated movie was shelved by the studio as a tax write-off in 2023, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
A “funeral screening” was also held for the movie, whose story ironically reflected the movie being scrapped. In an interview for the Empire August 2026 issue, Green commented on the funeral screening, “It was so ironic, I almost couldn’t believe it. Rewatching the movie [at the funeral screening], it almost felt like we had written it knowing this would happen.”
However, things took a turn when Ketchup Entertainment stepped up and bought the distribution rights to the movie from Warner Bros. for roughly $50 million in March 2025. The movie had its early screening on July 25, 2026, at San Diego Comic-Con. The Looney Tunes movie is now conducting press screenings.
What are critics saying about Coyote vs. Acme?
Coyote vs. Acme received an unexpected Rotten Tomatoes score with many positive reviews. Many reviewers called the live-action and animation blend “a genuinely funny, charming, and highly entertaining piece of blockbuster filmmaking.”
Most critics also commented on the realistic take on the corporate world in the movie. For instance, Nick Schager’s review on The Daily Beast reads, “A clever and madcap underdog saga that, in light of real-world events, now resonates as a case of art foreshadowing life.” While Taylor Gates, for Collider, says, “Coyote vs. Acme’s journey to the big screen proves that good things come to those who wait, but fantastic things come to those who never give up.”
However, there were also some critical comments pertaining to the movie’s screenplay. Owen Gleiberman wrote for Variety, “It could have been called ‘Remembrance of Rube Goldberg Bombs Past.’ Yet there’s a certain way that ‘Coyote vs. Acme,’ next to those cartoons, feels neutered and tame.”
Coyote vs. Acme will be released in theaters on August 28, 2026.
