It might not have been quite the show of emphatic box office support that Looney Tunes fans hoped to see after Coyote vs. Acme avoided becoming a Warner Bros. tax write-off, but the film managed to get rolling over the weekend to score a second-place finish behind the unstoppable Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Meanwhile, Ridley Scott‘s The Dog Stars was sent to the doghouse.
Ketchup Entertainment released Coyote vs. Acme on 3,575 North American screens, with the film grossing $15.4 million for the weekend after collecting $5.3 million on Friday. Earning an A CinemaScore from audiences, the hybrid of animation and live-action stars Will Forte, Lana Condor and John Cena in the story of Wile E. Coyote suing the Acme Corporation over its faulty products.
This marks the biggest debut ever for the independent distributor, topping their previous best for the Looney Tunes feature The Day the Earth Blew Up, which was originally intended for HBO Max before opening to $3.5 million in March of last year ahead of a $15 million global cume. Coyote vs. Acme had a softer opening than other recent hybrid films — the past 15 of which debuted with an average frame of $23.2 million, according to FranchiseRe — but looks likely to recoup its investment through ancillary markets.
News broke in late 2023 that Warner Bros. had shelved the completed Coyote vs. Acme as a tax write-off. After social media outrage over the fact that director Dave Green’s film that carried a roughly $70 million budget would potentially never see the light of day, Ketchup stepped up last year to nab the rights for $50 million. Coyote vs. Acme has impressed critics, earning 95 percent approval from reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes. The Hollywood Reporter critic Frank Scheck deemed the movie “a hilarious delight.”
Jacob Elordi in 20th Century Studios’ The Dog Stars.
Fabio Lovino/20th Century Studios
In fifth place was the Jacob Elordi-led sci-fi thriller The Dog Stars, displaying little bite for 20th Century Studios with $8 million domestically as it opened in 3,300 locations. Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley and Guy Pearce also star in Scott’s feature adaptation of Peter Heller’s 2012 novel about the survivors of a devastating virus.
The Dog Stars bagged a 41 percent critics approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, along with a 70 audience score. The Hollywood Reporter chief film critic David Rooney called the movie “minor-key to a fault.” For Scott, who remains prolific at age 88, this is his lowest box office start since 2021’s The Last Duel opened to an anemic $4.8 million in 2021.
Claiming the top spot for its fifth consecutive weekend was Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which swings to $22.2 million to bring its domestic total to $891.5 million. Tom Holland stars in director Destin Daniel Cretton’s superhero blockbuster that remains the second-highest-grossing title ever at the domestic box office, behind only 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens with $936.6 million.
Buddy
Worry Well Productions/Courtesy of Sundance
Globally, Brand New Day swung to No. 4 at the all-time worldwide box office over the weekend, as its worldwide total now stands at $2.332 billion. This moves 2025’s Chinese animated fantasy Ne Zha 2 to No. 5 with $2.27 billion, while James Cameron’s 1997 disaster epic Titanic floats to No. 6 with $2.26 billion. Spidey is now just behind 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water, which currently holds third place with $2.334 billion.
Universal Pictures’ The Odyssey continued to find a home in third place on the weekend’s North American chart with $14.3 million. This brings the domestic sum for Christopher Nolan’s mythological epic to $563.8 million after seven weekends.
In fourth place was Sony’s Insidious: Out of the Further, as the horror sequel scares up $10.1 million to take its domestic total to $43.6 million in its second weekend for a decline of 59 percent.
Another newcomer this weekend was Roadside Attractions’ horror-comedy Buddy, as the skewed look at children’s television collected $5.3 million for seventh place from 1,258 locations. Casper Kelly’s film stars Cristin Milioti, Topher Grace and Keegan-Michael Key, with Rooney noting that it “doesn’t go far enough to be as extreme or disturbing as it wants to be.”
This weekend brings the impressive 2026 summer at the box office to a close with an estimated total of $97 million for the frame, according to FranchiseRe, which is down from last weekend’s $130.5 million. Rentrak expects this summer’s titles to have collectively grossed $4.444 billion, putting the season 25.5 percent ahead of last year’s but in fourth place behind the summers of 2013, 2016 and 2015, in descending order.
