According to multiple reports, Coming 2 America is in the process of moving from a theatrical release to making its debut on Amazon Prime Video.
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Variety is reporting that Paramount Pictures is selling Coming 2 America to Amazon for a royal sum of $125M. The final details are reportedly being hammered out now and include promotional partnerships with McDonald’s and Crown Royal. Also necessary before the deal can be finalized is Eddie Murphy signing off on the agreement.
Paramount has been shopping the film around for some time now, and spoke with the likes of CBS All Access (a service under the same corporate umbrella as Paramount), Netflix, Apple, and so on. Amazon apparently offered the most.
The original Coming to America was released in 1988 and grossed nearly $300M globally. Fans have longed for a sequel ever since and it was finally put together and will see Murphy reunite with Arsenia Hall for their first project together in years.
Coming 2 America will see Prince Akeem (Murphy) about to ascend the throne of Zamunda just as he discovers he has a son in America he was unaware of. He sets off with Semmi (Hall) to meet his son Lavelle, a street-savvy resident of Queens. The film will add Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, and Jay Pharow to the cast.
With the uncertainty of the box office right now, and Disney saying it’s now focusing on streaming, it seems highly probable we will see more deals such as this being struck.
