Sure, the opening weekend box office of “Resident Evil” was impressive, as has been the continued success of Marvel Studios and Sony’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and Universal’s “The Odyssey.” But there was a smaller but no less important box office milestone that was just eclipsed by a film that wasn’t supposed to be released at all.
“Coyote vs. Acme,” the live-action/animation hybrid that was dumped by Warner Bros. and rescued by Ketchup Entertainment, crossed the $100 million mark at the global box office this weekend. (“Supergirl,” Warner Bros.’ big summer superhero movie, grossed $126 million internationally and it cost a rumored $186 million to make, before marketing.)
The success of the movie, based on a 1990 Ian Frazier story that appeared in The New Yorker, cannot be overstated. The movie was shot back in 2022 and by 2023 Warner Bros., which had produced the movie, announced that it was being shelved for tax purposes. It followed a pair of high profile movies that were similarly deemed un-releasable by the incoming Warner Bros. brass – “Batgirl,” based on the DC Comics character, and the animated sequel “Scoob !Holiday Haunt.”
Years later, it was rescued by Ketchup, which had similarly saved “The Day the Earth Blew Up,” a completely animated “Looney Tunes” adventure. It was always going to be a longshot, but Ketchup pulled together a tailor made marketing campaign suited for the film’s unusual origin, relying on the skills of publicity firm 42West and Maximum Effort, the marketing arm of Ryan Reynolds’ production company of the same name.
That campaign leaned on the project’s unique history, carrying the tagline, “The Movie ACME Didn’t Want You to See.” And it worked.
“When Ketchup stepped in to ‘bring Coyote vs. Acme’ back to audiences, we knew we had something special — a beloved property, an incredibly passionate fan base and, at the heart of it, the ultimate underdog story. From announcing our release date at Comic-Con to embracing the idea of ‘the movie ACME didn’t want you to see,’ we wanted to honor that passion and give fans something to rally behind,” said Gareth West, CEO of Ketchup Entertainment.
“We’re overjoyed and beyond grateful for every audience member who showed up, bought tickets and shared in this little underdog story,” said “Coyote vs. Acme” director Dave Green. “The audience spoke up and spoke loudly for the Coyote. And we’re so grateful they did.”
“That’s a great number. It certainly exceeds our expectation, but never our hopes. Audiences and critics have embraced this film,” said producer Chris DeFaria.
Maximum Effort, a company that was born out of the success of the original “Deadpool” (“Maximum effort” is a trademark Deadpool catch phrase), came on board the project after San Diego Comic-Con 2025, where “Coyote vs. Acme” had a panel when they announced the release date (to thunderous applause). It continues the company’s pull towards what they would describe as “distinctive, challenger brands and properties.”
Maximum Effort embraced the “ACME as the bad guy” framing that was introduced at that Comic-Con panel, allowing the narrative of the fan outreach and the story of the movie itself to gel into a single, cohesive message.
“Maximum Effort immediately understood what made this movie and its audience so unique,” West said. “They saw the opportunity to lean into Wile E. Coyote as the ultimate David taking on Goliath, while tapping into the existing fan base and the broader cultural conversation in smart, unexpected ways. Their ability to find those moments, and then translate them across trailers, television, digital, social and content, made them a natural partner for us.”
42West, which has served as the PR agency of record for Ketchup, has also been an integral part of the process since Ketchup’s acquisition of the film in 2025. According to Ketchup, the goal was to create “an intensive fan-first publicity strategy designed to build anticipation, reintroduce the film to audiences and create a sustained conversation around its theatrical release,” beginning with that 2025 Comic-Con panel and continuing through with months of pre-release buzz.
Every podcast appearance or interview you saw or read from Green or one of the actors, like Will Forte and John Cena, that was all 42West.
The efforts by the PR firm culminated in the movie’s premiere at the Directors Village theater in Westwood, where the Coyote himself appeared on the red carpet and then led the UCLA marching band into the theater, where they performed before the film was introduced by the filmmakers and stars.
“We’ve been so proud to be part of the Ketchup Entertainment team for the past three years, and ‘Coyote Vs Acme’ was a labor of love for all of us. Congratulations to Gareth and the entire Ketchup team on reaching the incredible $100 million global box office milestone. It’s a tremendous achievement, and we’re thrilled to celebrate the milestone with Ketchup Entertainment, filmmakers, cast and fans, as well as our colleagues who worked on the film,” said Amanda Lundberg (CEO) and Tom Piechura (President, Entertainment Marketing Division), 42West.
All along the way, both 42West and Maximum Effort leaned into the grassroots-feeling sentiment that was stoked by the precipitousness of the movie’s fate – the community felt like they were a part of the movie’s story and were rooting for it to succeed. And succeed it did.
With more than $100 million worldwide, “Coyote vs. Acme” has eclipsed major films like Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic drama “The Dog Stars” (which brought in just $38 million worldwide) and could best the gross of Amazon MGM Studios’ “Masters of the Universe” ($114 million). Not too shabby for a movie that – in the eyes of Warner Bros. – didn’t warrant a release at all.
And the sky is the limit with “Coyote vs. Acme,” as the movie begins the next phase of its release, at least domestically – it will appear on digital beginning on Sept. 29, with physical media releases and streaming debuts in the next few months. There’s also the potential for the movie to campaign in the Best Animated Feature Oscar category (it has enough animated bits to qualify).
If there’s a lesson to be taken away from this experience, it’s to never count out “Coyote vs. Acme.”
The post ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ Crosses $100 Million: Inside the Underdog’s David vs. Goliath Marketing Campaign | Exclusive appeared first on TheWrap.
