Coming to America (1988)
- Despite a very rocky opening weekend, Coming to America went on to gross over 5x its initial budget thanks purely to incredible audience word-of-mouth.
- The studio almost pulled funding for Coming to America midway through the shoot, convinced that the general audience wouldn't connect with the highly unconventional tone.
- The lead role in Coming to America was originally offered to a massive A-list star who turned it down because they didn't understand the script.
Coming to America is a 1988 American romantic comedy directed by John Landis. Eddie Murphy stars as Akeem Joffer, the sheltered, idealistic crown prince of the fictional African nation of Zamunda, who travels to Queens, New York in search of a wife who will love him for himself rather than his wealth and title, accompanied by his loyal servant Semmi, played by Arsenio Hall. Disguising themselves as impoverished students, Akeem and Semmi take jobs at a fast-food restaurant called McDowell's and Akeem falls for Lisa McDowell, played by Shari Headley, the owner's daughter.
Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall each played multiple roles, transforming into elderly barbershop regulars, a Jewish customer, an African king, and a soul singer through Rick Baker's Oscar-nominated prosthetic makeup. The barbershop scenes, in which Murphy and Hall's various characters argued, told jokes, and bickered, became the film's most beloved element. Coming to America earned $288 million worldwide on a $39 million budget.
