Coming to America

Play trailer

2:38

Coming to America

R

Released Jun 29, 1988

1h 56m

Comedy

Romance

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

73%

Tomatometer

55 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) is the prince of a wealthy African country and wants for nothing, except a wife who will love him in spite of his title. To escape an arranged marriage, Akeem flees to America accompanied by his persnickety sidekick, Semmi (Arsenio Hall), to find his queen. Disguised as a foreign student working in fast food, he romances Lisa (Shari Headley), but struggles with revealing his true identity to her and his marital intentions to his king father (James Earl Jones).

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Eddie Murphy was in full control at this point, starkly evident in Coming to America's John Landis' coasting direction.

Read Critics Reviews

Derek Malcolm

Guardian

Subtlety is not Mr Murphy's strong point, but on the, whole his spiky charm saves both him and the movie.

Jul 22, 2021

Full Review

David Robinson

The Times (UK)

John Landis directs the slim affair at a riskily leisured pace; but with some enjoyment from supporting characters such as James Earl Jones as the King and Eriq LaSalle as the Prince's rival for spunky Shari Headley.

Jul 22, 2021

Full Review

Duane Byrge

The Hollywood Reporter

This comedy is generally tame and sappy... what we get is homogenized Eddie Murphy, drained of his kinetic comic charm and smiling sass.

Jan 29, 2019

Full Review

Herb Boyd

The Crisis

What a pleasure it is to see such a glamorous array of black people on screen.

Nov 27, 2023

Full Review

Bill Chambers

Film Freak Central

Even Akeem's gentle African lilt seems like Murphy trying to distance himself from his star persona, if not demonstrate his range.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 3, 2022

Full Review

Sean Collier

Box Office Prophets

It is charmingly old-school in plenty of regards - while remaining quotable.

Rated: 8/10

Mar 31, 2021

Full Review

Read all reviews

Pedro Henrique C

Coming To America (1988) is a very enjoyable film to watch, the story is quite crazy and pathetic but the cast manages to turn it into a good, fun comedy. There were a few moments where I managed to have a good laugh.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/21/25

Full Review

Erin K.

Top five Comedy movie of all time. RIP King of Zamunda 🦁

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/18/25

Full Review

Tina P.

I thought it was great.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/06/25

Full Review

Stephen C

A success in 1 hour and 56 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In memory of James Earl Jones (January 17th, 1931-September 09th, 2024) and John Amos (December 27th, 1939-August 21st, 2024)!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $128,100,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/04/25

Full Review

Kevin P

A very funny comedy with such rapid-fire jokes and great multiple roles from Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall. Samuel Jackson was hilarious as the deranged robber. James Earl Jones is awesome as always, and it's cool how he and Madge Sinclair played African Royalty 6 years before "The Lion King". Eddie Murphy is really charming as the naive Prince and I enjoy that his storyline subverts the "rich boy gets humbled by the poor lifestyle" since he's so enthusiastic to have agency, even if it's for a fast-food joint surrounded by angry New Yorkers. The romance subplot is actually really sweet and I'm glad that the "Liar revealed plot" wasn't too melodramatic or dragged out. Another classic Eddie Murphy comedy and definitely worth a watch!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/02/25

Full Review

Peter V

Not bad, but also not good. Was enjoyable. Eddie Murphy has certainly better movies.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/23/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

John Landis

Director

Eddie Murphy

Prince Akeem

Arsenio Hall

Semmi

John Amos

Cleo McDowell

James Earl Jones

King Jaffe Joffer

Shari Headley

Lisa McDowell

Coming to America: Official Clip - The King Has Entered the Building

1:50

Coming to America: Official Clip - New Digs

0:57

Coming to America: Official Clip - Unhappy Meal

1:35

Coming to America: Official Clip - Miss Black Awareness Pageant

1:43

Coming to America: Official Clip - Cassius Clay or Muhammad Ali

1:02

Coming to America: Official Clip - Sparring Session

1:28

Coming to America: Official Clip - Akeem Meets Lisa

0:59

Coming to America: Official Clip - Akeem Talks Football

0:48

Coming to America: Official Clip - The Barbershop

1:19

Coming to America: Official Clip - Semmi Writes Home

0:56

View more videos

Starting Over

75%

59%

Starting Over

Watchlist

200 Cigarettes

30%

59%

200 Cigarettes

Watchlist

Married to the Mob

88%

50%

Married to the Mob

Watchlist

Boomerang

48%

59%

Boomerang

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Boomerang

She's Gotta Have It

94%

72%

She's Gotta Have It

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Sterling K. Brown’s Five Favorite Films

“Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong” About… Coming to America

Coming 2 America First Reviews: A Fun but Overly Familiar Trip Down Memory Lane

Preview: Rotten Tomatoes is Wrong About... Coming to America

3:27

Coming to America: Trailer 1

2:38

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) is the prince of a wealthy African country and wants for nothing, except a wife who will love him in spite of his title. To escape an arranged marriage, Akeem flees to America accompanied by his persnickety sidekick, Semmi (Arsenio Hall), to find his queen. Disguised as a foreign student working in fast food, he romances Lisa (Shari Headley), but struggles with revealing his true identity to her and his marital intentions to his king father (James Earl Jones).

Director: John Landis
Producer: George Folsey Jr., Robert D. Wachs
Screenwriter: Barry W. Blaustein, David Sheffield
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount, Eddie Murphy Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 29, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $128.1M
Runtime: 1h 56m
Sound Mix: Surround
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Most Popular at Home Now