Eddie Murphy has signed both a three-film deal with Amazon Studios and a first-look deal to develop original film projects with a potential to star.
The news comes on the heels of Murphy working with Amazon on “Coming 2 America,” which had a huge streaming debut on Amazon Prime Video in March.
Specifically, Amazon said — citing third party Screen Engine/ASI’s weekly PostVODTM ranking — that the comedy sequel was the No. 1 streamed movie of that particular opening weekend and boasts the No. 1 opening weekend of any other streaming movie in 2021 to date or in the past 12 months. In its debut week, “Coming 2 America” also topped Nielsen’s weekly streaming rankings among all streamed SVOD content.
“Eddie is a legend both in front of and behind the camera,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said in a statement. “With undeniable comedic and dramatic genius, he consistently delivers entertaining, original stories and characters to audiences around the world. We could not be more excited to help carry on the tradition and to officially welcome Eddie into the Amazon family.”
Up next for Eddie Murphy, he’ll reprise a role from another one of his comedy classic franchises when he returns for “Beverly Hills Cop 4.” He’ll also star in an untitled comedy from Netflix and Kenya Barris alongside Jonah Hill. Murphy is an Oscar nominee for his work in “Dreamgirls,” and he also received acclaim for his performance in the 2019 biographical film “Dolemite Is My Name.”
Murphy is represented by WME, ML Management, Rogers & Cowan/PMK and Ziffren Brittenham.