Eddie Murphy’s Coming 2 America has been pushed out of its August 2020 release slot and will now hit theaters in late December, taking advantage of the holiday frame that has been packed with successful films in recent years. The Exhibitor Relations Twitter account informed the internet that the film has been pushed back four months, to December 18, 2020, from its original August 7 date. The move leaves Antoine Fuqua’s Infinite as the only major film with a release date for that week (although the box office may still be recovering from the previous week’s Morbius if it does as well as Venom did last year). December 18 puts the film in direct competition with West Side Story, and five days later, The Croods 2 and Cruella will both hit theaters.
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Coming to America was released in 1988 and followed Murphy’s Akeem, a pampered African prince from the wealthy fictional nation of Zamunda who rebels against an arranged marriage and heads to America to find a new bride. Akeem’s father (played by James Earl Jones) allows him 40 days to wander the country but sends along the prince’s faithful retainer Semmi (Arsenio Hall) as well. As one might guess, Akeem does, in fact, find a woman he’s interested in and hijinks ensue — including Akeem and Semmi getting jobs at a fast food restaurant.
The sequel is set to be directed by Hustle & Flow director Craig Brewer who will be working from a script by Black-ish creator and Girls Trip writer Kenya Barris. Barris is rewriting a script from original Coming to America writers Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield. Murphy is producing the film alongside Kevin Misher while Barris will serve as executive producer.
“After many years of anticipation, I’m thrilled that Coming to America 2 is officially moving forward,” Murphy said in a statement last year. “We’ve assembled a great team that will be led by Craig Brewer, who just did an amazing job on Dolemite, and I’m looking forward to bringing all these classic and beloved characters back to the big screen.”
“Craig’s ability to create a distinct cinematic world with each of his films is not only impressive, but also what made him exactly the voice and vision we needed to bring this story to life,” added Barris. “From Hustle and Flow to his work with Eddie on Dolemite Is My Name, he never fails to blow me away. He is a true auteur and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have him on board.”
Coming 2 America is set to open in theaters December 18, 2020.
