James Gunn's Live action Road Runner Film!

[Daniel]

Will Forte and Lana Condor join the cast.

[Daniel]

Film has been shelved, one year after filming completed. Bummer.

[Ben]

Had no idea it had already been shot. Shame, it would be great if these films had rough cuts that leaked out one way or another in future.

[Randall]

This really sucks. I feel for all the creative people involved in these productions. One wonders why anyone would want to work with WB on a film these days.

[gaastra]

So, film looks like had over 90 plus test scores! Thats an incredible score. Also looks like it's a tax cut for $30m.

Why does zaslab hate animation so much than take over a studio with a huge history of animation? You put house party in theatres but kill a film with over 90 test audience score? What is wrong with you?

Even deadline called him out this time!

[Ben]

Also very surprising because of the Gunn connection. Just what is going on there!?

[gaastra]

Tax cuts!

[gaastra]

Update--

"Contrary to Green’s claim on social media that the film “was embraced by test audiences who rewarded us with fantastic scores,” it actually didn’t test that well, I’m told. And Damaschke, who is formulating his own strategy for Looney Tunes, feared the brand damage of an underperforming film, especially on the heels of Space Jam: A New Legacy grossing only $163 million worldwide. So they scrapped it. Another source who’s seen the movie said it’s definitely good enough to take a swing in theaters, but Warners is understandably gun-shy these days, given its financial situation."

We have a he said she said fight on our hands!

Note from same post--

Correct me if I’m wrong but, it wasn’t just Green who made that claim, right?

I saw other people, including critics and press, saying it was very good. And Deadline’s original article had mentioned specific numbers in its test scores too, apparently “14 points above average” for a family film, and another source mentioned testing “in the 90s”. I don’t think all of that came from just Dave Green.

[Ben]

Bottom line is that it was made for Max, shoulda coulda still premiered on Max.

[gaastra]

It was going to theatres and was planned same day oppen moved to. It was removed from its theatre date early this year and now we know why. Taxcuts!

Wow we would have had barbie, oppen and coyote out same weekend! Think of that maime!

[Daniel]

Reportedly it's no longer cancelled. Warner Bros. executives will allow the filmmakers to shop the movie to other potential distributors:

I’m told Warner Bros. will now let the filmmakers of Coyote vs. Acme shop the movie to other potential distributors. That’s a big about-face from earlier this week, when Warners said that the long-finished $70 million Looney Tunes film, directed by Dave Green and starring John Cena, Will Forte and a C.G.I. Wile E. Coyote, would be shelved indefinitely without any ability to place it elsewhere, à la the infamous Batgirl and Scoob! sequel.

Warners declined to comment, but a good source tells me the decision was made this weekend by Warners film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, along with new animation head Bill Damaschke, after the online outcry by filmmakers and the animation community, as well as some heated back-and-forth between the studio and reps for the director and stars. Warners had agreed to pay the top talent their streaming bonuses despite the film being scrapped, but obviously, everyone involved in this project wants it to be released by someone.

Coyote vs. Acme is another sign of these weird times, one of those caught-in-the-middle-of-two-strategies movies that was greenlit by Toby Emmerich back in December 2020, when the mandate from WarnerMedia leadership was to make as much product as possible for streaming, cost be damned. When current C.E.O. David Zaslav took over, $70 million direct-to-Max movies went bye-bye, so Warners pivoted to theaters. But some internally questioned whether the film played theatrically enough. Contrary to Green’s claim on social media that the film “was embraced by test audiences who rewarded us with fantastic scores,” it actually didn’t test that well, I’m told. And Damaschke, who is formulating his own strategy for Looney Tunes, feared the brand damage of an underperforming film, especially on the heels of Space Jam: A New Legacy grossing only $163 million worldwide. So they scrapped it. Another source who’s seen the movie said it’s definitely good enough to take a swing in theaters, but Warners is understandably gun-shy these days, given its financial situation.

On that point, these whackings of finished films invariably get chalked up to “tax” savings, but there’s actually not that much benefit to the company. I’m no tax avoidance expert, but everyone I’ve talked to on this subject has said that it’s basically a question of when the losses on a film are taken. Maybe scrapping Coyote will accelerate a possible deduction, which is beneficial for a company like Warner Bros. Discovery that is drowning in debt now, but it’s not a big benefit, maybe in the single-digit millions. In other words, not something Warners would do if its executives believed in the film.

But maybe some other studio or streamer will take the risk, so Warners is gonna help the filmmakers test the market. I’m not sure how many buyers there are for a $70 million live-action/CGI hybrid Looney Tunes movie. And Warners, already fearful of brand damage, probably won’t take a $50 million loss in a deal just to make John Cena happy, though the studio is in business with him on The Peacemaker and other stuff. But at least now Warners is giving its creatives the chance. And if no buyers emerge, De Luca, Abdy, and Damaschke can at least say they let them try.

Awesome to hear!

[Randall]

And WBD continue to look like a bunch of clowns. But I am pleased the film still has a chance.

[Ben]

Since any other studio can’t really touch this — I mean really, D+ running a Looney Tunes movie? Universal? Paramount? Nope — it leaves Netflix or Prime to license it as any other WB title, and after suitable exposure it’ll then get a video release.

Either that or an independent cinema distributor picks it up and WBD lets them take the burn on it just so they can say it’s a "theatrical" to net more in pay and network TV revenue.

I can see them letting it go for $40-50m, or even less given they won’t have to market it, given that if it *is* pretty good and does well enough, they’ll match or beat that on video/demand and it’ll end up at least paying for itself.

[gaastra]

Anyone but "theatre killer" netflix. If its apple or prime it has a chance for theatres but netflix its a tv movie.

[Ben]

Amazon is the, er, Prime candidate at the moment.

I still don’t think it will get a cinema release now, though. This feels like a Christmas family movie, and it’s too late to open it this side of the new year.

Maybe that weirdy February/March corridor though?

Netflix is baffling: now that they have taken a stake in Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre, they’ve put a short film on their platform about how great the moviegoing experience is, proclaiming a big screen with audiences is the only way to see a movie. Both I and my wife laughed and said, "and this coming from Netflix, the very entity that is killing that moviegoing experience!"