He attempts to parachute out with a drug-filled duffel bag, but knocks himself unconscious on the doorframe and falls to his death.

The bear attacks, sending Peter stumbling through a pile of cocaine and slashing Liz in the process.

In the ensuing chaos, Tom is killed by the bear, while Liz falls out of the ambulance and is dragged to death on the road.

Later, Stache hitchhikes to New York with a duffel bag of cocaine, while Eddie, accompanied by Daveed and Bob's dog, reunites with his son.

[9] The film is loosely inspired by the events surrounding a 175-pound (79 kg) American black bear that died after ingesting a duffel bag full of cocaine in December 1985.

The cocaine had been dropped out of an airplane piloted by Andrew C. Thornton II, a former narcotics officer and convicted drug smuggler, because his plane was carrying too heavy a load.

Notably, the real-life Cocaine Bear is not known to have killed anyone after consuming drugs, and what transpired in the time leading up to its death from overdose is unknown.

[17] Yasmin Tayag of The Atlantic wrote that part of the film's popularity on social media may have been due to the appeal of man versus nature narratives or the shock value of the premise.

[18] Asylum Books released a mash-up satirical novel, Winnie the Pooh: Cocaine Bear on February 8, 2023.

[21] In December 2019, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were announced to be producing an untitled horror comedy project inspired by the true story, and based on a spec script written by Jimmy Warden.

The producers approached Radio Silence collectives Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett to direct, but both opted out of the film in favor of making the fifth Scream installment.

It was also confirmed that the film would instead be directed by Elizabeth Banks, and produced by Banks and Max Handelman for Brownstone Productions, who joined the producing team alongside Lord, Miller, Aditya Sood for Lord Miller Productions, and Brian Duffield.

[26][27][28] The production budget was $30–35 million, with a large portion of it going to Wētā FX to create the bear with CGI.

[4][5] In the United States and Canada, Cocaine Bear was released alongside Jesus Revolution and was initially projected to gross $15–20 million from 3,534 theaters in its opening weekend.

The website's consensus reads: "Despite Cocaine Bear's half-baked plot and uneven acting, the titular fur fiend's scene-snorting frenzy will give B-movie enthusiasts a contact high.

[38] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3/4 stars, describing it as a "wildly entertaining and darkly hilarious B-movie blood-fest" and "genuinely well-crafted horror.

"But it is an incredible blast, especially if you have the benefit of seeing director Elizabeth Banks' insanely violent comedy/thriller with a packed crowd.

"[45] In his review for The New York Times, Jason Zinoman describes Cocaine Bear as a blood-splattered major studio horror-comedy whose greatest joke is that it exists.

He notes that the film consistently invites viewers to laugh at it and that it successfully captures the "comic potential of the gross-out".

Zinoman praises the bear's performance and a few raucous, transgressive moments, but he argues that the film's one-joke premise is stretched thin.

[50] It was also nominated for the Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Live Action Production at the 51st Annie Awards.