50 Fun Facts About Coming to America

Who directed Coming to America, reuniting with Eddie Murphy five years after their first film together?

The two fell out badly on set, yet worked together again six years later on Beverly Hills Cop III.

Prince Akeem decides to find his own bride on which birthday?

The trigger is meeting Imani, the arranged bride who has been trained since birth to obey his every word.

How many days does King Jaffe give Akeem to 'sow his wild oats' before the wedding?

The compromise comes only after Akeem has made Imani bark like a dog and hop on one foot to prove she has no will of her own.

In which New York borough do Akeem and Semmi go looking for a queen?

The logic is impeccable: where else would you find a queen? They rent a squalid tenement in Jackson Heights.

Lisa's boyfriend Darryl Jenks is heir to which hair-care fortune?

The greasy product leaves a stain on every sofa in the film, and its jingle was written by Chic's Nile Rodgers, who calls it his proudest moment.

Eddie Murphy's soul singer Randy Watson fronts which band at the neighbourhood rally?

The band returned to close the 2021 sequel with a rendition of 'We Are Family', with Watson's cousin Reem on stage.

Besides Semmi, which of these characters is played by Arsenio Hall?

Hall's other faces include Morris the barber and the Extremely Ugly Girl at the club; Saul and Clarence belong to Murphy.

Who plays King Jaffe Joffer?

He returned for the 2021 sequel, which turned out to be his final film role before his death in September 2024.

Which actress plays Queen Aoleon, and would later voice Sarabi in The Lion King?

Her pairing with the actor who plays King Jaffe was repeated when the two voiced Mufasa and Sarabi in 1994.

Who plays Cleo McDowell, Lisa's father and Akeem's boss?

The Good Times patriarch also came back for the sequel, McDowell's having by then opened a franchise in Zamunda.

Who plays Lisa McDowell?

The other three are also in the film: as the arranged bride Imani, as Lisa's sister Patrice, and as one of the royal rose bearers.

Which future ER star plays Lisa's obnoxious boyfriend Darryl?

He was Dr. Peter Benton on ER for eight seasons starting in 1994.

According to Arsenio Hall, why did Louie Anderson end up playing McDowell's employee Maurice?

The studio supplied a list of three white performers; Murphy and Hall picked the one they knew and liked.

Which future star plays the McDowell's robber stopped by Akeem's mop handle?

The character had reportedly hit the restaurant five times before running into a prince trained in the martial arts.

Which future Oscar winner made his film debut as a boy getting a haircut in the barbershop?

Ruben Santiago-Hudson also debuted in the film, as a street hustler.

The homeless men Akeem hands cash to are Mortimer and Randolph Duke, from which film?

Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy reprised the roles, and a snatch of that film's score plays as they mistake Akeem for Billy Ray Valentine.

Which South African choir sings 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' over the opening sequence?

The version heard in the film has never been released on the soundtrack or on CD.

Eddie Murphy's personal salary for the film was reportedly how much, plus 15% of rentals?

The director got $600,000 plus 10% of the gross, on a film that earned close to $290 million worldwide.

The director's trademark in-joke 'See You Next Wednesday' appears in the film as what?

It is in the subway station where Lisa storms off the train after learning who Akeem really is.

Coming to America received two Academy Award nominations, one for costume design and one for what?

Rick Baker's makeup turned Murphy and Hall into a Jewish pensioner, a soul singer, a barber and a woman nobody wanted to dance with.

Which humourist sued Paramount in 1990, saying the film came from his 1982 treatment about an African potentate?

He won the breach-of-contract case, and Buchwald v. Paramount became the textbook example of Hollywood 'net profit' accounting.

Akeem tells Lisa's family that he comes from a family of what?

The lie holds until his parents and their entourage descend on the McDowell house.

Where does Akeem finally catch up with Lisa to explain himself and propose?

She refuses and hands back the jewelled earrings he had secretly given her.

The film opened in the US on which date in 1988?

It debuted at number one and finished as the year's third-highest-grossing film in America.

Roughly what was the film's production budget?

Worldwide takings were reported at anything from $289 million to $350 million.

The unsold 1989 sitcom pilot based on the film starred which In Living Color comedian as Prince Tariq?

CBS burned it off in its Summer Playhouse anthology on July 4, 1989, with Paul Bates back as the servant Oha.

Which group performed the film's promotional title song 'Coming to America'?

The soundtrack also had Mel and Kim's UK top-ten hit 'That's the Way It Is' and a Laura Branigan duet.

In 2022 Paramount took legal action against a company for doing what?

The pop-ups had operated in Springfield, Virginia and Cherry Hill, New Jersey; the case went to the new Copyright Claims Board.

Siskel and Ebert gave the film 'two thumbs down'. What did Murphy say about that in 2016?

He noted the same pair later called it 'the classic Coming to America' in a retrospective.

Which grade did audiences polled by CinemaScore give the film?

Critics were far cooler: Metacritic's score is 47, and the New York Times said the script had escaped before it was ready.

In which of these films did Eddie Murphy NOT play several characters under heavy prosthetics?

The Klumps sequel also counts; Dr. Dolittle just had Murphy talking to animals.

Who directed Coming 2 America (2021)?

He had just directed Murphy in Dolemite Is My Name for Netflix.

The sequel was meant for cinemas but ended up premiering on which streaming service in March 2021?

Paramount sold the distribution rights during the pandemic rather than hold the film back.

Who plays General Izzi, the sabre-rattling dictator of neighbouring Nexdoria, in the sequel?

The character is the son of Colonel Izzi and brother of Imani, the bride Akeem rejected in the first film.

Akeem's long-lost son Lavelle is found hustling tickets outside which venue?

The barber Clarence recognises him from a photograph; Jermaine Fowler plays him.

Who plays Lavelle's mother Mary in Coming 2 America?

Tracy Morgan plays her brother Reem, who coaches Lavelle on blending his upbringing with his new royal status.

At the end of the sequel, Akeem changes the law of succession in favour of whom?

Lavelle is made ambassador to the United States instead, and Nexdoria opens up for trade.

Principal photography on the sequel took place mainly in which city?

The rapper Rick Ross confirmed his Georgia mansion stood in for the Zamundan palace.

Which of these acts appears as themselves at King Jaffe's pre-funeral in the sequel?

En Vogue and Gladys Knight sing too, while Morgan Freeman delivers the narration.

Like the original, Coming 2 America earned an Oscar nomination in which category?

The nomination came at the 94th Academy Awards, 33 years after the first film's.

Which Indian-language film, My Dear Marthandan, was made from the plot of Coming to America?

A Hong Kong film, The Fun, the Luck & the Tycoon, borrowed the same story.

Which organisation named Coming to America Outstanding Motion Picture and Arsenio Hall Outstanding Supporting Actor?

The film had cancelled its press screenings after a hostile first showing in New York.

Which Chic co-founder composed the Soul Glo commercial jingle and called it his 'proudest moment'?

Christopher Max sang the vocals for the fictional hair-care product's ad.

How much did Coming to America gross worldwide, per its Wikipedia box-office figures?

It opened at number one with $21.4 million and was Paramount's top earner of 1988; some contemporary reports claimed $350 million.

Which Snoop Dogg song sampled the melody from Prince Akeem's royal bath scene?

A remix with Nas even includes the royal bather's line about the royal penis being clean; a supergroup named itself after Randy Watson.

Which Mel and Kim song from the soundtrack was a UK top-ten hit before the film even opened?

Other singles from the album included The Cover Girls' 'Better Late Than Never' and a Laura Branigan and Joe Esposito duet.

How much did John Landis reportedly earn for directing, before his 10% of gross receipts?

Murphy later said he hired Landis as a favour after the Twilight Zone trial and felt betrayed, yet they reunited for Beverly Hills Cop III.

How much did Amazon Studios pay Paramount for the distribution rights to Coming 2 America?

Nielsen logged 1.4 billion minutes watched in its first week, the first time a Prime Original topped its charts.

Which Netflix film had director Craig Brewer made with Eddie Murphy before Coming 2 America?

Wesley Snipes joined as General Izzi, brother of Imani from the first film, while Madge Sinclair appears only in archive footage.

Which two artists released 'I'm a King', the lead single from the Coming 2 America soundtrack?

Def Jam released the album on March 5, 2021, the same day the film hit Prime Video a day early.