John Cena’s ‘Coyote Vs. Acme’ Film Shelved Even Though It's Completed — Here's Why Studios Scrap Shows And Movies

Topline

Warner Bros. Discovery announced it would shelve the completed Coyote Vs. Acme, a hybrid live-action and animated film based on the iconic Looney Tunes character Wile E. Coyote, making the movie the latest in a recent trend of fully produced shows and television series being canceled by production companies for cost-cutting purposes.

John Cena was set to star in the completed film, ‘Coyote Vs. Acme.’ (Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC … [+] via Getty Images)

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images

Key Facts

Coyote Vs. Acme, which was reportedly produced on a $72 million budget, was originally set to release earlier this year but was shelved so Warner Bros. could take a $30 million tax write-off, Deadline reported.

The move came just one year after Warner Bros. controversially scrapped Batgirl, an intended installment in the DC Extended Universe film series that cost $90 million to produce, reportedly because the company felt writing off the film for a tax break would be more financially sound than releasing it, and test screenings were reportedly met with negative reactions.

The Warner Bros. animated film Scoob! A Holiday Haunt was also scrapped last year, reportedly for tax write-off purposes, though the film still completed production after the company announced it would not be released.

Completed seasons of television series have also been shelved by production companies, including the second season of Minx, which was scrapped by Warner Bros. Discovery in December for tax purposes despite being nearly finished with production (The season was picked up by Starz and aired in July).

AMC scrapped shows 61st Street and Invitation to a Bonfire as part of an effort to take up to $475 million in write-offs, Variety reported, both of which were already shot and almost completed, though 61st Street later landed at the CW.

News Peg

Warner Bros. decided not to move forward with Coyote Vs. Acme, which was reportedly set for a release on Max, because of an effort to shift “its global strategy to focus on theatrical releases,” a Warner Bros. spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. The film was reportedly shot last year in New Mexico and was set to star John Cena, Will Forte, Lana Condor and Eric Bauza, and it was produced by DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn. Deadline reported Coyote Vs. Acme had been met with positive reviews during test screenings, with scores above the norm for family films. After the film’s cancellation, director Dave Green posted a statement on X thanking the “brilliant team, who poured their souls into this project for years” and the “test audiences who rewarded us with fantastic scores,” adding he is “beyond devastated” by the studio’s decision to shelve the movie.

Chief Critics

Decisions to scrap already completed films have been met with criticism from fans and entertainment industry workers. Bazua, who was part of the voice cast, lamented the film’s cancellation on Instagram, stating it is “sad that the film like a few others before it have fallen to corporate greed,” adding a completed film like Coyote Vs. Acme could have value for studios since production was halted on many films this year because of the writers’ and actors’ strikes. Steven Price, who composed the score for Coyote Vs. Acme, criticized the scrapping of the film as “anti-art studio financial shenanigans” in a post on X in which he included a video of a choir recording music for the film. Filmmaker BenDavid Grabinski called Coyote Vs. Acme a “great” movie, “the best of its kind since Roger Rabbit.” He criticized ”extremely effective commercial movies being deleted for tax purposes,” noting the film is based on popular existing intellectual property. After Warner Bros. shelved Minx’s second season, a high-ranking TV agent told Deadline: “To spend that kind of money and to not air it, believe me, we’re all scratching our heads.”

Key Background

By canceling projects for cost-cutting purposes, studios can avoid spending extra tens of millions to market and promote these films, Vanity Fair reported. Warner Bros. Discovery, in particular, has canceled numerous completed projects as part of cost-cutting measures following the 2022 WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. merger. An anonymous showrunner of a hit series told Deadline oversaturation of content on streaming services can also contribute to already produced shows being scrapped: “There are too many shows so it’s inevitable that if platforms can get a tax write-off or any money back from a show that they don’t love, they’ll absolutely cancel it.”

John Cena’s ‘Coyote Vs. Acme’ Film Shelved Even Though It’s Completed — Here’s Why Studios Scrap Shows And Movies

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