2020’s unprecedented circumstances have led to a lot of shifts and pivots in the world of movies, with streaming giants finding new and exciting acquisitions on a periodic basis. The Paramount/Eddie Murphy legacyquel Coming 2 America was one such pivot that blew the world away, with Amazon’s Prime Video acquiring the film as a streaming exclusive for $120 million. However, we had no idea if the originally planned theatrical release would keep its intended drop date of December 18th, leading to much speculation. Speculate no further, as we now have the news that Coming 2 America will be on Prime Video much later than we thought, as it’s now set to debut on March 5, 2021.
In an official announcement from Prime Video, Coming 2 America was officially slotted into the spring 2021 slate, promising a worldwide launch “in over 240 countries and territories.” But even with the question of when the world will be able to see Eddie Murphy’s Prince Akeem Joffer return to Queens now being answered, it’s time to deal with the fact that the anticipated Christmas release just isn’t happening. And there’s more than likely a pretty good reason why this much awaited legacyquel has been pushed off into the not too distant future.
We are, after all, living in a world where Warner Bros has decided to open Wonder Woman 1984 on its currently intended Christmas Day release date As Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins’ blockbuster sequel will be seen both in theaters internationally and on HBO Max for a month-long window in the domestic market, that’s going to be a hell of an act to beat. With Coming 2 America’s originally planned December 18th release date, that would have only left the comedy a week to cash in on the market, before it would be presumably overshadowed.
It’s not like Coming 2 America fans aren’t familiar with waiting or anything. Director Craig Brewer’s sequel was one of those projects that always seemed to flit by every now and then, without any concrete action planting it in the ground. That changed quickly enough when it was announced that not only was the film actually going to happen, but it would follow Prince Akeem’s journey back to America, to meet the son he didn’t know he had.
With surprises like that in the wings, Coming 2 America will keep audiences guessing and waiting for the day when all the answers will be revealed. And now we know that the film will crown the world with laughter on March 5, 2021. However there are sure to be other movies with their eyes on the throne for that weekend, and you can see who’s in line for the upset, courtesy of our 2021 release schedule.
