{"id":831109,"date":"2026-08-30T18:40:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T18:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/831109\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T18:40:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T18:40:14","slug":"meep-meep-coyote-vs-acme-opens-with-15-5-million-spider-man-stays-no-1-for-fifth-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/831109\/","title":{"rendered":"Meep, meep. \u2018Coyote vs. Acme\u2019 opens with $15.5 million, ‘Spider-Man’ stays No. 1 for fifth weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2013 Three years after Warner Bros. abruptly canned \u201cCoyote vs. Acme,\u201d<\/a> the Looney Tunes feature film that was given a new lease on life<\/a> by Ketchup Entertainment debuted with an estimated $15.5 million in ticket sales over the weekend. <\/p>\n

For the fifth weekend in a row, \u201cSpider-Man: Brand New Day\u201d<\/a> topped the North American box office. It grossed $22.2 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday, bringing its worldwide total to $2.33 billion and making it the fourth highest-grossing film of all time. <\/p>\n

\u201cCoyote vs. Acme,\u201d which had been relegated to the dust heap, fared best of the newcomers, debuting in second place. <\/p>\n

The Ridley Scott action drama \u201cThe Dog Stars,\u201d<\/a> starring Jacob Elordi, flopped. The film, about a pilot and German Shepherd who survive a global pandemic, opened in fifth place with $8 million for 20th Century Studios. It added $11.3 million overseas, a poor result for a film that cost between $70 million and $100 million to make. <\/p>\n

\u201cCoyote vs. Acme,\u201d however, scored a decent, hard-earned opening. In 2023, Warner Bros. canceled any release of the completed film, preferring to take a tax write off on a movie originally produced for its streaming service, HBO Max. Warner also shelved \u201cBatgirl\u201d and \u201cScoob! Holiday Haunt,\u201d both of which remain unreleased. <\/p>\n

\u201cCoyote vs. Acme,\u201d based on an Ian Frazier \u201cShouts and Murmurs\u201d New Yorker column, is about Wile E. Coyote suing the Acme Corporation for its faulty products. It stars Will Forte, John Cena, Lana Condor and Eric Bauza. <\/p>\n

The film, a hybrid of live-action and animation directed by Dave Green, cost $70 million to make. But despite good test screening scores, Warner Bros. opted to ax the completed film. After an outcry, the studio put the film up for sale. Early last year, Ketchup Entertainment acquired worldwide distribution rights<\/a> for about $50 million. <\/p>\n

For the makers of the film, just getting released was a victory. <\/p>\n

“‘Coyote vs. Acme’ is finally, gloriously, in theaters now,\u201d Green said on social media Friday. \u201cWhich means one thing. WE WON.\u201d <\/p>\n

Reviews and audience scores were also good. Moviegoers gave it an \u201cA\u201d CinemaScore. Critics were just as enthusiastic. On Rotten Tomatoes, it rated 95% fresh. <\/p>\n

While the result might have counted as a disappointment for some $70 million movies, the opening weekend for \u201cCoyote vs. Acme\u201d was the best ever for Ketchup. The indie distributor\u2019s previous high was 2024\u2019s \u201cThe Day the Earth Blew Up\u201d (a $3.1 million opening), another Warner-made Looney Tunes castoff. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe box office numbers are fair, but the reception is excellent and the release should set up good ancillary business for kids\u2019 viewing, where the film should recoup its investment,\u201d said David A. Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Odyssey,\u201d<\/a> in its seventh weekend, slid to third place with $14.3 million. It remains unusually strong overseas, where the Christopher Nolan movie grossed $48.6 million over the weekend. Altogether, the Universal Pictures release has collected $1.55 billion in global sales. <\/p>\n

Top 10 movies by domestic box office<\/p>\n

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:<\/p>\n

1. \u201cSpider-Man: Brand New Day,\u201d $22.2 million. <\/p>\n

2. \u201cCoyote vs. Acme,\u201d $15.5 million. <\/p>\n

3. \u201cThe Odyssey,\u201d $14.3 million. <\/p>\n

4. \u201cInsidious: Out of the Further,\u201d $10.1 million. <\/p>\n

5. \u201cThe Dog Stars,\u201d $8 million. <\/p>\n

6. \u201cBuddy,\u201d $5.4 million. <\/p>\n

7. \u201cThe End of Oak Street,\u201d $5 million. <\/p>\n

8. \u201cPAW Patrol: The Dino Movie,\u201d $4.9 million. <\/p>\n

9. \u201cMutiny,\u201d $2.8 million. <\/p>\n

10. \u201cTony,\u201d $2.2 million. <\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2013 Three years after Warner Bros. abruptly canned \u201cCoyote vs. Acme,\u201d the Looney Tunes feature film…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":831110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,28,15279,32636,21706,88,352011,451,352010,34564,30236,315655,3,81797,452,453,795,32624],"class_list":["post-831109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-business","tag-christopher-nolan","tag-dave-green","tag-david-a-gross","tag-entertainment","tag-eric-bauza","tag-headlines","tag-ian-frazier","tag-jacob-elordi","tag-john-cena","tag-lana-condor","tag-news","tag-ridley-scott","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-u-s-news","tag-will-forte"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=831109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/831110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=831109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=831109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=831109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}