By People were waiting for Warner Bros. Discovery’s quarterly earnings report to learn the fate of comedy feature “Coyote vs. Acme”. The result? It’s not clear, but also not looking good.
In its earnings filing, Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly wrote off $115 million in content due to abandoning films in the third quarter of 2023 according to THR. They list this as part of a “strategic realignment plan associated with the Warner Bros. Pictures Animation group.”
This ties to Warner’s relaunch of its theatrical animation division last year under the lead of Bill Damaschke. Plans are for two features a year from the division beginning in 2026.
It’s thought part of that $115 million in write-down costs could conceivably belong to the $80 million budgeted “Coyote vs. Acme,” but Warner Bros. Discovery “had no comment one way or the other”.
The film became quickly talked about when word broke that Warners intended to scrap the film. The outcry was so swift that the studio seemed to reverse course and allowed the filmmakers to shop around. Multiple buyers placed bids with at least one coming in at around $40 million, but Warners has seemingly rejected them all.
It also follows eighteen months after Zaslav stunned Hollywood by cancelling both the already shot “Batgirl” and “Scoob! Holiday Haunt” for tax write-offs – leading to other studios following that approach.
Warner Bros. Discovery shares sank 10% by day’s end in the wake of the company’s Q4 earnings report – even as said report showed financial progress for the Max streaming service.
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