Looney Tunes Movies Ranked, Including Coyote vs. Acme

The Looney Tunes are one of the biggest franchises in the world, comprising some of the most recognizable characters in cartoon history.

The franchise, which began in 1930, has seen many different TV and film projects released over its nearly 100-year run in Hollywood. However, surprisingly, only a handful of them have ever been released in theaters. The latest movie, Coyote vs. Acme, has had a long and storied road to its release this week.

The movie, which stars Will Forte, Lana Condor, Tone Bell, Luis Guzmán, Martha Kelly, P.J. Byrne, Kenneth Choi, and John Cena, follows the story of Wile E. Coyote as he looks to sue the Acme Corporation for repeatedly selling him faulty products.

In honor of the movie now playing in theaters, we’re taking a look at the best Looney Tunes movies that have been released in theaters.

Looney Tunes theatrical movies ranked

5) Space Jam: A New Legacy

Far and away the worst of the theatrical Looney Tunes movies, Space Jam: A New Legacy aims to give the world of Space just what it says. The result, though, is a truly rough case of what trying to capitalize on a known property can do when things aren’t done well. Similar to its 1996 predecessor, A New Legacy sees an NBA megastar, this time LeBron James, getting pulled into a virtual world and forced to win a basketball game against an AI that has gone rogue.

Unlike the original Space Jam, A New Legacy features none of the charm, humor, or simplicity of the original. While the first Space Jam featured a story about Michael Jordan trying to teach the Looney Tunes how to even play the basics of basketball, A New Legacy would much rather throw constant references and characters at fans simply because they are WB properties.

This means we’re treated to things like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and other random characters appearing, and none of it ever works. As a result, A New Legacy is the perfect example of what happens when trying to commercialize everything goes wrong.

4) Looney Tunes: Back in Action

Funny enough, Back in Action was actually originally developed to be a sequel to Space Jam. Instead, what spawned off was a movie about Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck trying to stop the Acme Corporation from transforming the world’s population into subservient people. Along the way, they accompany stuntman DJ Drake, played by Brendan Fraser, and a Warner Bros. executive (played by Jenna Elfman) to try to stop the plan.

Back in Action has its charm and does a lot more than other Looney Tunes movies do in terms of letting the characters be front and center. However, it’s pretty rough and uneven, even if it features some awesome zany moments. The fact that it essentially would be the last Looney Tunes movie released for a decade does speak to how it was perceived, though.

3) Space Jam

If you were a child in the 1990s, it’d be pretty hard not to love Space Jam. It’s corny, it probably hasn’t aged well, but it was absolutely incredible to experience during its heyday. Released in 1996, Space Jam follows the story of Michael Jordan trying to save his friends’ basketball skills by leading the Looney Tunes in a game against the Monstars, a group of aliens that are looking to enslave the Tunes and Jordan.

The movie is ultimately a ton of nostalgia at its core. However, it does retain a lot of its humor on rewatches, and does feature some absolutely incredible cameos, including ones from Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, and Bill Murray. The film’s stellar soundtrack has also continued to live on, as have many of the iconic moments in the movie.

2) The Day the Earth Blew Up

Years after Back in Action underperformed, the Looney Tunes returned to the big screen with The Day the Earth Blew Up. The 2025 movie is a spin-off from the original cartoon series, and follows Daffy Duck and Porky Pig as they try to save the Earth from an alien scheme that threatens to end the world. Unlike past movies on this list, this one is all Looney Tunes, and shines in a way that the other movies didn’t.

Although it doesn’t feature an absolutely wide cast of Looney Tunes members, The Day the Earth Blew Up showcases just how funny the cartoons can be when given the chance. Modeling itself after a sci-fi B-movie, the film lets the Tunes run wild when they get the chance, but also features a surprisingly heartfelt story along the way.

1) Coyote vs. Acme

Coyote vs. Acme’s road to the No. 1 spot here was a long one. Originally filmed in 2022, the movie was actually shelved in 2023, in order for then-Warner Bros. Discovery to obtain a tax write-off. WB would later reverse its decision and allow others to try to buy the rights to the movie, leading to Ketchup Entertainment acquiring it for $50 million.

While many might have believed that the movie was written off by WB thanks to its quality, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Coyote vs. Acme is a stellar entry in the world of Looney Tunes movies. Billed around Wile E. Coyote finally trying to get the upper hand on things and enlisting the help of an attorney (played by Will Forte) to try and sue Acme.

What follows is a movie that features an extremely heartfelt throughline, tons of great satire (especially in the wake of WB’s handling of the movie), and tons of great, wacky Looney Tunes moments. It’s unknown how the movie would’ve been received if it had just been released normally, but now that it’s here, it can take its place atop the Looney Tunes movie rankings.

Source: Comingsoon.net