About: After decades of being blown to bits by bombs, demolished by dynamite, mangled by magnets, battered by boulders, trampled by trains, tricked by tunnels, sprung by springs, steamrolled by steamrollers, maligned by misfires, bedeviled by bungees, rattled by rockets, backstabbed by bat suits, rocked by rocket skates, upended by unicycles, quaked by quake pills, rubberized by rogue bands, and hurled headlong off every cliff in the Southwest, Wile E. Coyote (Genius) finally fights back. Teaming up with billboard accident lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte), he takes on slick corporate counsel Buddy Crane (John Cena) and ACME, Inc., the profit-obsessed conglomerate behind every one of the Coyote’s chaotic catastrophes.
Directed by: Dave Green
Starring: John Cena, Will Forte, James Gunn, Lana Condor, Chris McKay, P.J. Byrne, Chris deFaria, Jon Silberman
Premiere: August 28, 2026
Budget: $70 Million
Opening Weekend: $15,914,007 (North America)
Score: 96% Tomatometer (Based on Critics’ Reviews) | 95% Popcornmeter (Based on Audience Scores)
Critics’ Consensus: A daffy satire that’s equal parts heart and wily humor, Coyote vs. Acme makes a triumphant case for the Looney Tunes‘ modern relevance with a sense of good-natured mischief that’d make even Bugs Bunny bow.
Audience Says: A hilarious, nostalgic, and unexpectedly heartfelt crowd-pleaser, Coyote vs. Acme introduces Looney Tunes mayhem — and its iconic anvils — to a new generation while rewarding longtime fans.
Was It a Success? While this film started at the Number 2 slot (behind juggernaut Spider-Man: Brand New Day), its domestic opening of $16 million puts it on an uphill battle to recoup its $70 million budget. But the fact that this one made it to theaters in the first place is a minor miracle, so it still counts as somewhat of a win. Warner Bros. was going to do the same thing they did with Batgirl and disappear the film so that they could count it as a write-down. But Ketchup Entertainment paid $50 million to acquire the rights and release it in theaters. Considering the fact that it received very little marketing push, that opening day looks pretty good when you factor in everything this film had to go through. Still, at this point, it looks like Coyote vs. Acme will lose money at best, if not count as a flop, unless good word-of-mouth draws people into theaters (and it has been getting high marks from critics and audiences, see above). And even if this one does not turn a profit at the Box Office, I like its chances of becoming a cult classic and eventually proving a success on streaming and home video.
Should You See It in Theaters? Yes. I don’t care if it does not truly count as sci fi (it does check the fantasy boxes), this is Coyote vs. Acme! and every genre fan should appreciate this big screen revival of the Looney Tunes (those who have not watched the classic cartoons should definitely get that on their to do list). This is also a good chance to stick it to the man, as Warner Bros. had planned on giving up on this one because their corporate execs have no appreciation for the classics that helped build their foundation as a major media contender. Every ticket bought for this movie is a thumbing of the nose at those poor boardroom choices and show of support for those who created the film and and fought to get it in front of audiences. And the movie is getting some strong buzz, so it certainly seems like it delivers a ton of fun and is worth the ticket price to see it in the theater.
Summer 2026 Results (Sorted by Worldwide Gross):
Here are the results for all of the Blockbuster season entries through the end of Summer 2026 (as of September 3rd). And watch for an upcoming post with a final analysis on the season.
| Title | Weeks in Release | Domestic Gross | Domestic % of Gross | Worldwide Gross | Budget | Worldwide % of Budget | Theatrical Run |
| Spider-Man: Brand New Day | 5 | $898,127,191 | 359% | $2,339,632,560 | $250M | 936% | Box Office Hit |
| The Odyssey | 7 | $569,907,035 | 253% | $1,559,295,035 | $225M | 693% | Box Office Hit |
| The Mandalorian and Grogu | Out of Theaters | $177,730,060 | 108% | $345,724,060 | $165M | 210% | Lost Money |
| Disclosure Day | Out of Theaters | $116,636,645 | 101% | $241,186,430 | $115M | 210% | Lost Money |
| Mortal Kombat II | Out of Theaters | $79,770,110 | 100% | $129,470,110 | $80M | 162% | Box Office Flop |
| Supergirl | Out of Theaters | $72,366,532 | 40% | $126,366,532 | $180M | 70% | Box Office Flop |
| Masters of the Universe | Out of Theaters | $64,830,245 | 38% | $113,763,426 | $170M | 67% | Box Office Flop |
| The End of Oak Street | 3 | $47,414,868 | 52% | $108,514,868 | $92M | 118% | On Target to Lose Money |
| Coyote vs. Acme | 1 | $21,218,187 | 30% | $24,066,445 | $70M | 34% | On Target to Lose Money |
| Dog Stars | 1 | $9,890,981 | 9% | $21,011,981 | $110M | 19% | On Target to Count as a Flop |
| Animal Farm | Out of Theaters | $5,564,037 | 16% | $6,099,901 | $35M | 17% | Box Office Flop |
Source: BoxOfficeMojo.com
You can see our rundown of all the sci fi and fantsy Summer Blockbusters at this link.
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