Coyote vs. Acme debuts at No. 2 with $15.5 million

The long-shelved Looney Tunes hybrid film "Coyote vs. Acme" proved its commercial viability this weekend, debuting in second place at the North American box office with an estimated $15.5 million in ticket sales. The result marked a significant victory for distributor Ketchup Entertainment and a rebuke to Warner Bros., which had canceled the completed film in 2023 to claim a tax writeoff. The film, which opened in 3,575 theaters, trailed only the superhero blockbuster "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," which earned $22.2 million in its fifth weekend. "Coyote vs. Acme" outperformed several other major releases, including Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" in third place with $14.3 million and Ridley Scott's new sci-fi thriller "The Dog Stars," which flopped in fifth place with just $8 million. The opening weekend haul represents the best debut ever for Ketchup Entertainment, surpassing the $3.1 million opening of another Warner Bros.-produced Looney Tunes film, "The Day the Earth Blew Up," in 2024. While the $15.