As Paramount’s CinemaCon presentation was coming to a close, the studio confirmed a number of movies that are on the studio’s expansive production slate, including the long-gestatingComing to America 2starringEddie Murphy, which will be called Coming 2 America, and the expected follow-up of the studio’s current low-budget hitA Quiet Place 2. Other projects confirmed during a montage of various movie logos includeWorld War Z 2, the long-gestatingDungeons & Dragons,Gemini Man, which had been in development at Disney back in the 1990s,Terminator 6,Top Gun 2,Sonic the Hedgehog,What Men WantandMicronauts, just to name a few. Here’s what Paramount’s Jim Gianapoulos told exhibitors about the studio’s recent box office woes, and how they plan on turning things around.
“It’s no secret we’ve had somedifficult years at the box office. We’re laying the foundation…to deliver to you films for every possible audience for years to come.”
We first heard aboutComing 2 Americalast March, when comedian Eddie Murphy’s now-deactivated Twitter account sent out a very cryptic tweet that indicatedComing to America 2was happening, and that Murphy himself was writing the script. The actor’s tweet included a photo of hisComing to Americaco-star Vanessa Bell Calloway, who played Princess Imani in the sequel, the woman Murphy’s characterAkeemwas intended to marry, before he set off to America to find his true queen. Calloway revealed that the tweet was the first she had heard of a sequel, adding that while she would be interested in returning, she thought that Murphy might have been hacked.
It was later confirmed that aComing 2 Americasequel is happening, with Paramount bringing backoriginal writers Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield to work on the script, and the last we heard about the project was back in September, whenSnatched director Jonathan Levine came aboard to direct. That report also revealed thatBlack-ishcreator Kenya Barris had been brought on to rewrite, although it wasn’t known if Barris was re-working Blaustein and Sheffield’s draft, or if he’s starting from scratch.
Coming To Americahit theaters in 1988, at the height of Eddie Murphy’s popularity. The story followed his character Prince Akeem, of the affluent African nation of Zumunda, who learns he has had a bride chosen for him, the aforementioned Princess Imani. Having never met this woman, he devises a plan, telling his father that he wishes to “sow his royal oats” in America, as he sets off on a trip with his servant Semmi (Arsenio Hall). The trip is a ruse, though, with Akeem telling Semmi that he intends to find his bride there, as they journey to Queens, New York, where he falls in love with Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley).
Coming to Americaearned $128.1 million during its box office run in 1988, the third highest-grossing movie of that year behindWho Framed Roger Rabbit?($156.4 million) and Best Picture winnerRain Man($172.8 million). There is no indication when production may begin on his sequel, or when Paramount may release the movie. You can read more on Paramount’s CinemaCon presentation atVariety.
