Coyote vs. Acme: where to watch the film Warner Bros. shelved

Wile E. Coyote sues Acme. The film Warner Bros. shelved is finally out: what it is about, the cast, where to watch it, and what to watch next.

HUSOctober 1, 2026

For a while, Coyote vs. Acme looked like the film nobody would ever see. Finished in 2023, it was shelved by Warner Bros. as a tax write-off, the way Batgirl had been a year earlier, and for months the only proof it existed came from the people who had worked on it. Then an independent distributor, Ketchup Entertainment, bought it, and it finally reached cinemas in the US on 28 August 2026.

Now it is one of the most talked-about family films of the year, with a 7.6 viewer rating on TMDB. Here is everything you need to know: what it is about, who is in it, where to watch it, and what to watch next.

2026 · 7.6 TMDBCoyote vs. AcmeAfter Acme products fail him one too many times in his dogged pursuit of the Roadrunner, Wile E. Coyote decides to hire a billboard lawyer to sue the Acme Corporation.

What is Coyote vs. Acme about?

Wile E. Coyote races across the desert as a giant ball blots out the sun (Coyote vs. Acme) — Wile E. Coyote races across the desert as a giant ball blots out the sun Coyote vs. Acme

The premise is the joke every Looney Tunes fan has made at some point. After Acme products fail him one too many times in his chase after the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote decides to hire a lawyer and sue the Acme Corporation.

It is a mix of live action and animation, in the tradition of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The cartoon coyote shares a real courtroom with real actors, and the film plays the lawsuit straight, which is exactly why it is funny. The tagline sums it up: "The movie ACME doesn't want you to see."

The idea is older than the film. It comes from "Coyote v. Acme", a short comic piece by the writer Ian Frazier, published in The New Yorker in 1990 and written as a legal complaint on the coyote's behalf.

Cast and crew

Director: Dave Green.
Screenplay: Samy Burch, who was nominated for an Oscar for writing May December.
Producers: among them James Gunn.
Music: Steven Price.
Cast: Will Forte as Kevin Avery, the coyote's lawyer, with Lana Condor, John Cena as Buddy Crane, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly and Luis Guzmán as Judge Troppogrosso.

The film runs 1h 43m and is rated PG in the US, so it works for a family evening as well as for grown-up fans of the old cartoons.

Wile E. Coyote, flowers in hand, with his lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte) and Paige Avery (Lana Condor) (Coyote vs. Acme) — Wile E. Coyote, flowers in hand, with his lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte) and Paige Avery (Lana Condor) Coyote vs. Acme

Where to watch Coyote vs. Acme

In the US, the film came to digital on 29 September 2026. At the time of writing you can rent or buy it on Amazon Video, the Apple TV Store and Fandango at Home, and rent it on Plex. It is not on a subscription streaming service yet.

Availability changes often, and it differs by country. The film page on NookFilm always shows the current options for your region: open the card above, and use Notify me if you want an email the day it arrives on a streaming service you already pay for.

Why people are talking about it

Part of the interest is the story behind the film. Shelving a finished film to save on taxes caused an outcry among animators and fans, and Coyote vs. Acme became a symbol of that fight. Seeing it finally released, and liked, feels a little like the coyote winning for once.

The other part is simple: it is a well-made, funny film for the whole family, at a time when there are not many new ones in cinemas. Viewers on TMDB rate it 7.6, which is high for a film that mixes cartoons and live action.

What to watch next

If Coyote vs. Acme made you nostalgic, these are the best films that mix Looney Tunes, cartoons and the real world.

1988 · 7.5 TMDBWho Framed Roger RabbitToon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead and Roger is the prime suspect.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). The film that made the genre. A detective in 1940s Los Angeles, a cartoon rabbit accused of murder, and a city where toons and people live side by side. 1h 44m, rated 7.5. Still the best of its kind.

2024 · 7.5 TMDBThe Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes MoviePorky and Daffy, the classic animated odd couple, turn into unlikely heroes when their antics at the local bubble gum factory uncover a secret alien mind control plot. Against all odds, the two are determined to save their town (and the world!)...that is if they don't drive each other crazy in the process.

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (2024). The first fully animated Looney Tunes feature, with Porky and Daffy facing an alien invasion. It has the same 7.5 rating and the same story of a hard road to cinemas.