When does Coyote vs. Acme open? August 28, 2026 — Ketchup rescued the WB write-off; Green directs; Forte sues Acme with Cena opposing. UK Aug 21. Not Cliffhanger.
Current target date: Friday, August 28, 2026 (Theatrical premiere). We update this page when studios or publishers move the window.
Coyote vs. Acme opens August 28, 2026 US (UK Aug 21). Green; Forte/Cena/Condor; Ketchup ~$50M after WB 2023 write-off. ≠ Batgirl vault; ≠ Cliffhanger same Friday.
Theatrical premiere
Friday, August 28, 2026
August 28, 2026 — the write-off that sued its way back into theaters
Coyote vs. Acme opens Friday, August 28, 2026 in the U.S., with UK/Ireland a week earlier on August 21. Green’s live-action/animation hybrid puts Wile E. in civil court against Acme, with Forte as the rusty lawyer, Cena as corporate muscle counsel, and Condor in the family orbit — Eric Bauza covering classic Looney voices.
Budget sat near $70–72M before WB’s 2023 shelf. Ketchup’s rescue is the reason this URL has a Friday at all. James Gunn and Chris DeFaria produce; Steven Price scores.
Confirmed: Aug 28 theatrical after Ketchup buy — not still vaulted, not Batgirl
Confirmed: August 28, 2026 U.S. / August 21 UK; Green; Forte/Cena/Condor; Burch script; Ketchup acquisition ~$50M after WB write-off drama. Not confirmed as forever cancelled, as a Max day-one dump instead of theaters, or as the same ticket as Cliffhanger remake. Scrapers still saying “shelved forever 2023” are a year late.
From New Yorker joke to tax write-off to Comic-Con Friday
- Source — Ian Frazier’s “Coyote v. Acme” humor piece.
- Jul 21, 2023 — original WB theatrical stub (later yanked; Barbie took summer space).
- Nov 2023 — WB Discovery shelves finished film for write-off; backlash follows.
- Mar 2025 — Ketchup buys rights (~$50M) after prior Looney save (Day the Earth Blew Up).
- Jul 2025 SDCC — Forte announces August 28, 2026 U.S. date.
- Aug 28, 2026 — current theatrical target.
Before August — don’t buy the wrong desert lawsuit
- Ticket title must say Coyote vs. Acme — not Cliffhanger, not Dog Stars (same weekend traffic).
- UK patrons: August 21 Altitude; U.S.: August 28.
- Expect hybrid live-action + Looney animation, not a pure 2D short compilation.
- Tax-write-off memes are origin story now — not a reason the Friday is fake.
- Space Jam sequels are different Looney theatrical products.
Warner wrote the movie off for taxes — then the coyote’s trailer roasted Tax Day on the way back
Most “shelved film” pages stop at the villain studio. Coyote’s funnier beat: after Ketchup paid ~$50M to un-vault a finished $70M hybrid, marketing leaned into the wound — a Tax Day teaser framed the trailer drop like a filing. The lawsuit on screen is about defective rockets; the lawsuit off screen was about whether finished movies can be deleted for a deduction.
August 28, 2026 is the verdict date. SEO that still calls it cancelled is arguing the wrong decade.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about this release date.
1When does Coyote vs. Acme open?
August 28, 2026 in U.S. theaters (Ketchup Entertainment / Warner Bros. Pictures path). The UK and Ireland open a week earlier — August 21, 2026 via Altitude. The dead July 21, 2023 WB stub is history.
2Wasn’t this movie cancelled for a tax write-off?
Warner Bros. Discovery shelved it in November 2023 for a write-off after the film was finished and tested well. Public backlash forced a sale process; Ketchup Entertainment bought rights for about $50 million in March 2025 and dated the theatrical for August 28, 2026. It is not Batgirl — that one stayed vaulted.
3Who stars, and what’s the premise?
Will Forte plays Kevin Avery, Wile E. Coyote’s lawyer; John Cena is Acme attorney Buddy Crane; Lana Condor is Paige Avery. Dave Green directs Samy Burch’s screenplay (story by Gunn, Slater, Burch) — Coyote sues Acme for decades of defective rocket skates, inspired by Ian Frazier’s New Yorker humor piece.
4Is this the same August 28 movie as Cliffhanger?
No — same calendar Friday, different film. Cliffhanger is the Collet-Serra alpine reboot (distribution still messy). Coyote vs. Acme is the Looney Tunes hybrid comedy. Dog Stars is also dated that weekend in some slates — check the title on the ticket.
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