Amazon Pays Big Bucks For Eddie Murphy’s ‘Coming 2 America’
It’s the latest instance of movie studios bypassing theaters because of the pandemic.
Eddie Murphy‘s upcoming Coming To America sequel, Coming 2 America, will premiere in a very different world than the 1988 original. Paramount Pictures just sold the rights to the new comedy to Amazon Studios for a windfall of about $125 million, Variety reports.
What is good news for Paramount is bad for theaters—this is just another instance of moviemakers acknowledging the reality of how the coronavirus pandemic has, for some, crushed the very idea of a safe night out at the movies.
Citing unnamed sources, Variety reports that the “final details” of the deal “are being hammered out.” It’s also reportedly quite a deal, and will include some major tie-in products, such as a deal with McDonald’s and with whiskey makers Crown Royal.
This isn’t the first highly-anticipated comedy to go this route, either—Borat 2 also appears set to skip theater premieres altogether.
Here’s an official synopsis for Coming 2 America:
In the sequel, Prince Akeem [Murphy] is set to become king of the fictional country of Zamunda when he discovers he has a son he never knew about in America — a street-savvy Queens native named Lavelle.
To honor the former king’s dying wish to groom his grandson as the crown prince, Akeem and Semmi set off to America. Murphy, Arsenio Hall, and James Earl Jones are reprising their roles. Additional cast includes Tracy Morgan and Jay Pharaoh.
Coming 2 America is currently slated to premiere at the end of 2020.
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