Warner Bros. shelves John Cena movie ‘Coyote vs Acme’ one year after wrapping

Another big budget movie bites the dust … A Warner Bros. film starring John Cena has suffered a disastrous fate after finishing production.

The John Cena starring ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ has been shelved by Warner Bros. Picture: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for IMDb

Warner Bros. has sensationally pulled a big budget movie starring John Cena from its release schedule.

Coyote vs. Acme, which finished filming in New Mexico last year, was produced by new DC Studios co-head James Gunn (previously of Marvel notoriety), and starred US actors Cena, Will Forte and Lana Condor.

The live-action, animation hybrid film, which was commissioned for HBO Max, was based on the iconic Looney Tunes cartoon character Wile E. Coyote.

It cost a reported $US70 million to make, according to The Hollywood Reporter, in which Warner Bros. is able to claim as a tax write-off at an estimated $US30 million.

John Cena had finished filming on the movie. Picture: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for IMDb

In a statement, Warner Bros. said the company had overhauled its strategy and was steering away from a focus on streaming titles.

“With the relaunch of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation in June, the studio has shifted its global strategy to focus on theatrical releases,” a WB Motion Picture Group spokesperson said in a statement.

“With this new direction, we have made the difficult decision not to move forward with Coyote vs Acme. We have tremendous respect for the filmmakers, casts, and crew, and are grateful for their contributions to the film.”

The film was based on Looney Tunes character, Wile E. Coyote (left).

Coyote vs. Acme marks the third title at Warner Bros. to suffer such fate.

The studio controversially pulled the DC Comics film Batgirl and the animated feature Scoob! Holiday Haunt in mid-2022, with incoming Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav eager to cut nearly $US3 billion in costs.

The move to cancel completed films before they’ve seen the light of day has been particularly prominent over the past year, with multiple Hollywood studios sharing a renewed focus on profitability amid an unstable financial market.

Disney CEO Bob Iger declared in February he planned to cut $US5.5 billion in costs at the studio, including $US3 billion in non-sports content.

In May, the company unveiled its streaming content removal plan, with a goal to remove up to 50 titles from Disney+ – in which the company took on an impairment charge of between $US1.5 billion and $US1.8 billion.