Warner Bros. Takes Art Out of Filmmaking, Accused of Creating Tax Write-Offs, Not Movies

In the world of Hollywood, the accounting department can often be just as or even more important than the director’s chair. For decades major film studios have used every trick in the book to minimize their recorded profits as a way to minimize their other payouts for taxes and creatives. Warner Bros. is no stranger to these tactics and there is yet another victim on his way to IRS purgatory.

Warner Bros. has announced that they will not be releasing the hybrid live-action/animated feature film Coyote vs Acme, based on the popular Looney Tunes duo. According to Deadline, the film reportedly cost $70 million to produce and WB has elected to take a $30 million write-down instead of releasing the feature. While this is not the first time a company has shelved a completed project and is, in fact, the third time Warner Bros. themselves have canceled a film, the fact that test audience screenings were generally positive has some fans taking umbrage with CEO David Zaslav in particular. 

Twitter/X user @ThePeterBriggs gave his feelings on the matter, posting “David Zaslav has turned a functioning movie studio into a mechanism to pay him an obscene amount of money annually, while not actually releasing movies.” In 2020, 2021, and 2022 Zaslav was paid $37, $203, and $39 million respectively. While his true motives for some of the decisions Warner Bros. makes are unknown, it’s easy to see why some may see him as an indictment of over-paid and out-of-touch CEOs in today’s world.

David Zaslav has turned a functioning movie studio into a mechanism to pay him an obscene amount of money annually, while not actually releasing movies. https://t.co/J7UvPAONyB

— 𝙿𝙴𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙱𝚁𝙸𝙶𝙶𝚂 🖊️ #WGAw (@ThePeterBriggs) November 9, 2023

Deadline points out that this is the third movie under Zaslav’s leadership that was shut down after being approved by previous leadership. The two other discarded projects include the Leslie Martínez-led Batgirl and the animated film Scoob Holiday Haunt! All of these projects were canceled in an either near or completely finished state, much to the dismay of their respective fanbases. These kinds of moves have become more common in Hollywood as some studios prefer to take the “safe money” in reporting a project as a loss rather than risk putting it out to lackluster financial results. 

Commenters on the original DiscussingFilm Twitter post agreed with the overall sentiment that the art and effort put into these projects far outweigh the potential financial gain in shelving them. “This is absolutely disgusting,” says user @AdeleKThomas. “No body who is actually a creative would do this. This is heartbreaking to production teams. I was really looking forward to Coyote Vs Acme, as a fan of the characters, humor and Maurice Noble style backgrounds. I hate it this SO much.”

“COYOTE V ACME is a great movie. The best of its kind since ROGER RABBIT. It’s commercial. It tested well. The leads are super likable. It’s beautifully shot. The animation is great. The ending makes everyone fucking cry. I thought the goal of this business was to make hit movies?” asked @bdgrabinski. “This makes me feel insane. It’s a great fucking movie. It’s based on a huge IP. It’s a crowd pleaser. What are we even doing anymore?”

This decision is heartbreaking not only for the fans, but also for the creative teams that worked on them and raises questions about the priorities of major Hollywood studios. This problem also exists within streaming services, with tons of content being released only to be pulled again just a short time later to be written off. It clearly shows that the studios have come to prioritize their own bottom dollar versus the creative spirit of the film industry and is starting to contribute to a shift in culture in the entertainment world.

Clearly, this move is confusing and highly upsetting for many people for the sheer fact that it doesn’t seem to make sense, especially when it featured such a popular and generation-spanning franchise like Looney Tunes. Zaslav has been a controversial figurehead since taking over Warner Bros., and it seems as though it’s a hill he’s more than willing to die on.

What do you think about Warner Bros. cancelling their movies? Is it the start of a shift in entertainment or just a sad trend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.