

I’m standing at the cineplex Thursday night pondering, “Do I duck into ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ after catching “The Dog Stars,” or do I just wait until those “Idiots” Dave Franco and O’Shea Jackson, Jr. show up?
Silly me. While we know Warner Bros. let go of “Coyote vs. Acme” as a write-off, with Ketchup Entertainment stepping in to get it into theaters, that’s a valuable if Looney brand to be leaving to the wolves, dumped on the last weekend of August.
Warners may be bleeding red ink over the title, but generations grew up with these Looneys, in various incarnations. The WB sold the film to modest Ketchup (“Bushwick,” “Memory,” “Ferrari,” “Goodrich,” “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie”) for $50 million.
The film is on track to clear $14-15 million on its opening weekend, with family audiences tired of “Toy Story 5” and the latest “Minions.” It won’t make back its Ketchup cost in the U.S. alone, but that’s not pocket change.
It was always going to be a hard sell — live action with animation and all, a solid B- list cast of players (Will Forte, John Cena, Luiz Guzman) interacting with tunes. But reviews have been damned enthusiastic.
Who would have bet that these Looneys would best Ridley Scott’s worst movie in ages, “The Dog Stars?” A B+ list cast, with Oscar winner Allison Janney as the lone (loopy) villain, it made little to nothing Thursday (half of what “Acme” did) and did no better Friday. It won’t clear $10, with Deadline,.com calling the code at $8..
That leaves the last of August the way all of August has gone, in the hands of your friendly neighborhood “Spider-Man.” “Brand New Day” will add $19 million to its bottom line, It should clear $900 by Labor Day.
Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” ($14-15, second place) will probably fall just short of $600 million by summer’s end, next weekend.
“Coyote vs. Acme” will come in third, even if it only clears $12 ($13-14 is more likely).
“”Insidious: Out of the Further” is falling off quite a bit to $9 and claim fourth.
“The Dog Stars” is looking at $8 and fifth place, although it could rally a bit and claim fourth.
The new release “Buddy” — based on the TV show about a unicorn — is on track for $5 million, good enough for sixth. Go figure.
“The End of Oak Street,” the “Tony” Bourdain bio-pic, the latest “Paw Patrol,” and probably “Toy Story 5” should finish out the top ten. Unless, of course, the “Idiots” rally.
Check back here as I’ll be updating those numbers as more data comes in Sat. and Sunday.
