Coming 2 America is headed to Amazon Prime Video

Paramount has sold the distribution rights for Coming 2 America to Amazon Prime Video.

Sequel Coming 2 America gets swooped by Amazon in what could be one of the biggest pandemic-era movie transactions.

The sequel to the hit 1988 Eddie Murphy-led comedy, Coming to America, is headed to Amazon Prime Video. Paramount Pictures has reportedly sold the distribution rights for Coming 2 America to Amazon Studios for nearly $125 million.

This deal is expected to release the motion picture on its platform on December 18. With the COVID-19 pandemic, avoiding theaters may be a good call for this film. The original, in a 1988 value of the American dollar, made $288 million worldwide and placed second domestically in box office numbers that year. The release should draw much interest to Amazon’s streaming platform.

What to expect from the sequel

The original Coming to America was about a prince named Akeem (Murphy). He’d come to America with his servant Semmi (Arsenio Hall) hoping to find true love. Akeem would leave his land of (the fictional African country) Zamunda to postpone his arranged marriage after seeking permission from his father, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones), rationalizing he has not seen the world outside his royal family in Zamunda. Akeem and Semmi would temporarily end up in Queens, New York, living in mega accommodations. The duo would work at fast food joint McDowells. There, Akeem took a liking to the owner’s daughter Lisa McDowell (Headley). After winning her over, Prince Akeem’s father is eventually convinced to break the royal tradition of an arranged marriage so his son could marry the woman he truly loves, Lisa.

What made the original film standout was its electric performance by its ensemble cast. The plot, pace, and endless comedy, while telling a love story, is why it’s regarded as a classic. With a sequel to release 32 years later, there is no doubt this timeless film will have an audience. One that may make this deal a steal for Amazon Prime Video.

This sequel is bringing back a number of key cast members from the original flick and adding more talent with Wesley Snipes and Tracy Morgan now in the fold. In terms of crew, the director and writer combination is back with director John Landis and writers Eddie Murphy and David Sheffield, respectively, while adding a few more writers to their table. The original film has set the bar high. Nonetheless, this sequel seems to be doing all the right things on paper.

“We wouldn’t have done this sequel unless we had come up with a clever way to connect the story and live up to whatever expectations people have for it,” Murphy told Entertainment Tonight.

What do you think about the prospect of another Coming to America film? Let us know in the comments!