Hacker Cinema
Coyote vs. Acme
2026 · Film · 103 min
Directed by Dave Green
ComedyAdventureFamilyAnimation
After 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.
1 negative5 neutralfrom 6 commenters
Where to watch
No streaming data for this title.
6 comments on Hacker News
I think we are saying the same thing. Companies chase high risk high reward over low risk low reward.
Presumably, curing a genetic disorder for a very small number of people using existing technology is low risk and low reward.
> Why wouldn't it be sold if it were available?
Just because something works in a small lab doesn’t mean it’s ready to sell. To launch a product, companies need to do a lot more: testing, certifications, licenses, marketing, training, and more. Sometimes, even when a product is finished, companies decide not to launch it if their budget or priorities shift elsewhere.
A related example could be unreleased movies like Batgirl Or Coyote vs. Acme. The films were completed, but they felt their marketing dollars would be better spent on other projects.
There is some value in not having a "Coyote vs. Acme" film released this year (either by Netflix or the Library of Congress) because they could try to make a profitable version soon but people may not give a new version a fair chance if a really bad version was released recently.
They presumably value that option more than whatever Netflix et al. offered.https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/9/24067496/coyote-vs-acme-amazon-netflix-paramount-rejected-offers-theatrical
Related: https://screenrant.com/coyote-vs-acme-movie-cost-price-warner-bros/
Very different situation. For Coyote vs Acme, the movie was finished properly and the only issue was WB projected it would make more money as a tax write-off. There was no malfeasance from the director/producer/etc.
For this one... well, read the article. The director/producer did some crazy stuff with the money.
The article headline is not as strong as the HN title in its suggestion that shelving the movie is motivated solely or primarily by the tax write-off:
> ‘Coyote Vs. Acme’: Warner Bros Shelves Finished Live-Action/Animated Pic Completely As Studio Takes $30M Tax Write-off
Like other commenters, I don't understand the logic of shelving a finished and likely profitable movie just to obtain a tax write-off on the investment. I suspect the article is strongly discounting the additional costs involved in actually bringing the movie to theatres, and/or the risk that it will be a flop.
> The difference here is that Coyote vs. Acme is a completed movie with very good test scores, 14 points above the family norm.