Coyote vs. Acme Sets Official Digital Release Date After $80M Box Office Run

1 hour ago 12

Published Sep 22, 2026, 12:01 PM EDT

Rianna is the Movie News Editor for ScreenRant. After earning her BA in Film Studies, she began her career as an entertainment writer, contributing to several publications before joining ScreenRant. Her dissertation on the impact of streaming on traditional cinema sharpened her focus on the ever-evolving world of film and media. With 10 years in the industry, Rianna continues to cover the stories she loves while also advocating for awareness and representation of rare disabilities, such as Moebius Syndrome, which she lives with.

Coyote vs. Acme is coming home.

Wile E. Coyote and the Acme Corporation were created in 1948 and 1949 by animator Chuck Jones and writer Michael Maltese. The original Coyote vs. Acme debuted as a satirical 1990 article in The New Yorker by writer Ian Frazier, which told the story of Wile E. Coyote suing Acme for selling him dangerous products. Scott Rudin Productions bought the film rights to Frazier's work in 1998, and unfortunately could not get approval from Warner Bros. and gave up the rights in 2006. Finally, the story has come to life 36 years later.

A Compendium of Enchanted Cinema How Well Do You Know Fantasy Movies? “Magic always comes with a price.”

🪄SpellsWingardium Leviosa

🐉BeastsHere be dragons

👑KingdomsLong live the king

⚔QuestsThe hero’s journey

🔮MagicWhat lies ahead

OPEN THE GRIMOIRE →

Across the Harry Potter films, the boy wizard is rarely without his loyal companion — a snowy owl gifted to him by Hagrid on his eleventh birthday. What is the owl’s name?

AHedwig BErrol CPigwidgeon DCrookshanks

✓ Correct! Hedwig — the snowy owl Harry receives in The Philosopher’s Stone — becomes one of his most beloved companions. Errol is the Weasleys’ ancient, accident-prone owl; Pigwidgeon is Ron’s tiny hyperactive owl; and Crookshanks is Hermione’s ginger cat — not an owl at all.

✗ Not quite! The answer is Hedwig. Errol is the Weasleys’ clumsy family owl, Pigwidgeon is Ron’s tiny owl from later books, and Crookshanks is Hermione’s cat. Hedwig is the snowy owl Hagrid buys Harry for his birthday — even getting her own leitmotif from composer John Williams.

In Rob Reiner’s 1987 cult classic The Princess Bride, the farm boy Westley answers Buttercup’s every demand with the same three words — which she comes to realize actually mean “I love you.” What does he say?

A“As you wish” B“Inconceivable!” C“My only love” D“Anything for you”

✓ Correct! “As you wish” is Westley’s signature line — and the film’s emotional core. “Inconceivable!” is Vizzini’s catchphrase (prompting Inigo’s famous “You keep using that word…”). The other two were never in William Goldman’s script — the whole point is that three plain words carry all the meaning.

✗ Not quite! The answer is “As you wish.” “Inconceivable!” belongs to the Sicilian Vizzini. Buttercup slowly realizes that Westley’s endlessly repeated “As you wish” is really his way of saying “I love you” — one of the most quoted lines in fantasy cinema.

The 2006 Spanish-language masterpiece Pan’s Labyrinth blends a fascist-era fairy tale with the grim reality of post-Civil War Spain, featuring the nightmarish Pale Man. Which director created this dark fantasy?

AAlfonso Cuarón BGuillermo del Toro CPedro Almodóvar DRobert Rodriguez

✓ Correct! Guillermo del Toro wrote and directed Pan’s Labyrinth, designing the Faun and the eyeless Pale Man himself. He’d later win Best Director and Best Picture for The Shape of Water. Cuarón directed Prisoner of Azkaban; Almodóvar is Spain’s great melodramatist; Rodriguez is del Toro’s close friend but made Sin City and Spy Kids.

✗ Not quite! The answer is Guillermo del Toro. Alfonso Cuarón (a fellow “Three Amigos” of Mexican cinema) directed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Pedro Almodóvar makes Spanish melodramas, and Robert Rodriguez made Sin City. Del Toro’s creature designs in Pan’s Labyrinth are now iconic.

In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), the four Pevensie children first stumble into the snowy land of Narnia by passing through what object?

AA magic mirror BA wardrobe CA painting DA wishing well

✓ Correct! It’s a wardrobe — it’s right there in the title. Lucy hides inside during a game and finds the snow and lamppost of Narnia beyond the fur coats. A magical painting actually appears in the sequel, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; the mirror and well are red herrings from other fantasy tales.

✗ Not quite! The answer is a wardrobe — literally named in the title. Lucy Pevensie pushes past the coats and steps out into snowy Narnia by the lamppost. (A magical painting does pull the children into the sea in the later film The Voyage of the Dawn Treader — but not here.)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) made Oscar history as the first fantasy film to win Best Picture, sweeping every category it was nominated in. How many Academy Awards did it take home?

A4 B7 C9 D11

✓ Correct! Return of the King won all 11 of its nominations — tying Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997) for the all-time record, and becoming the first (and so far only) fantasy film to win Best Picture. Remarkably, it earned zero acting nominations yet still swept the board clean.

✗ Not quite! The answer is 11 — a perfect clean sweep. Return of the King tied Ben-Hur and Titanic for the most Oscar wins ever and broke fantasy’s long Best Picture drought. Fellowship of the Ring won 4 and The Two Towers won 2; the finale took everything it was nominated for.

In the swashbuckling Pirates of the Caribbean films, Johnny Depp earned an Oscar nomination playing a swaggering, kohl-eyed pirate captain reportedly inspired by Keith Richards. What is the character’s name?

AWill Turner BDavy Jones CCaptain Jack Sparrow DHector Barbossa

✓ Correct! Captain Jack Sparrow — Depp’s loose-limbed, rum-soaked performance earned a surprise Best Actor nomination for The Curse of the Black Pearl. Will Turner is the blacksmith hero (Orlando Bloom), Davy Jones is the tentacle-faced villain (Bill Nighy), and Hector Barbossa is the mutinous rival captain (Geoffrey Rush).

✗ Not quite! The answer is Captain Jack Sparrow. Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) is the earnest blacksmith, Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) is the squid-faced sea villain, and Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) is the cursed rival. It was Depp’s Sparrow — modeled partly on Keith Richards — who earned the Oscar nod.

Jim Henson’s 1986 musical fantasy Labyrinth features a teenage Jennifer Connelly navigating a maze to rescue her baby brother from the flamboyant, wild-haired Goblin King Jareth. Which rock legend played Jareth?

ADavid Bowie BTim Curry CMick Jagger DSting

✓ Correct! David Bowie played Jareth, writing and performing the film’s songs including “Magic Dance” and “As the World Falls Down.” Tim Curry famously played the demon Darkness in another Ridley Scott fantasy, Legend (also 1985-86). Jagger and Sting are rock icons but never donned Jareth’s glittering cape and wild wig.

✗ Not quite! The answer is David Bowie. Tim Curry played the towering devil Darkness in the rival fantasy Legend around the same time. Bowie not only starred as Jareth the Goblin King but composed and sang the soundtrack — “Magic Dance” remains the film’s signature number.

In the 1984 classic The NeverEnding Story, the young warrior Atreyu journeys across the dying realm of Fantasia and befriends a furry, dog-faced luckdragon who carries him through the skies. What is the luckdragon’s name?

AArtax BFalkor CGmork DBastian

✓ Correct! Falkor (Falkor the luckdragon) is the friendly, scale-and-fur covered dragon who aids Atreyu and Bastian. Artax is Atreyu’s horse, lost heartbreakingly in the Swamp of Sadness; Gmork is the wolf-like servant of The Nothing; and Bastian is the real-world boy reading the story who is ultimately drawn into it.

✗ Not quite! The answer is Falkor. Artax is Atreyu’s beloved horse (the Swamp of Sadness scene scarred a generation), Gmork is the menacing wolf-beast serving The Nothing, and Bastian is the bullied boy reading the book. Falkor is the soaring luckdragon — one of fantasy cinema’s most cherished creatures.

REVEAL MY SCORE →

The Grimoire Closes · Quest Complete Your Fantasy Rank

🔮

/ 8

Archmage of the Silver Screen — or still lost in the labyrinth?

⤴ CAST AGAIN

After filmmaker James Gunn pitched a hybrid live-action/animation movie directly to Warner Bros. in 2015, the film has finally been created. With various writers and directors attached, the movie was completed in 2023 but was shelved and labeled a tax write-off. However, Ketchup Entertainment rescued Coyote vs. Acme, and now, after a successful box office run, it will be heading home. Coyote vs. Acme is set to arrive digitally on September 29.

After ACME products fail him one too many times in his dogged pursuit of the Roadrunner, Wile E. Coyote decides to hire a down-on-his-luck lawyer to sue the ACME Corporation.

Coyote vs. Acme is available to pre-order in UHD for $24.99 currently ahead of its wider digital release. The movie stars Will Forte, Lana Condor, John Cena, Eric Bauza, Martha Kelly, Jeff Bergman, and Luis Guzman. Ketchup Entertainment is clearly delighted to save the forgotten film and so are critics and viewers. The live-action/animation hybrid has a near perfect 96% rating from critics and an equally impressive 95% rating from viewers.

Critics have stated that Coyote vs. Acme is "A gently hilarious, genuinely moving ode to our favourite underdog," and that it's: "Funny, inventive and more emotionally engaging than its premise might suggest, this is the kind of big-hearted crowd-pleaser that deserved to be seen rather than locked away on a studio shelf." ScreenRant's Alex Harrison also said, "The filmmakers clearly understand the appeal of Looney Tunes, and while the various characters are deployed in fun ways, Wile E. Coyote is the true star."

After its apparent cancellation, Coyote vs. Acme's triumphant return has exceeded everyone's expectations. The comedy grossed $54.8 million domestically at the box office, and is now overtaking some other big heavy hitters from Warner Bros. including The End of Oak Street.

Coyote vs. Acme will arrive digitally on September 29.