Coming to America

Coming to America
Theatrical release poster illustrated by Drew Struzan.
Directed by	John Landis
Produced by	George Folsey, Jr. Robert D. Wachs
Screenplay by	David Sheffield Barry W. Blaustein
Story by	Eddie Murphy
Starring	Eddie Murphy Arsenio Hall James Earl Jones John Amos Madge Sinclair Shari Headley
Music by	Nile Rodgers
Cinematography	Sol Negrin Woody Omens
Edited by	Malcolm Campbell George Folsey, Jr.
Production company	Eddie Murphy Productions
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	June 29, 1988 (1988-06-29)
Running time	117 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$39 million
Box office	$288,752,301

Coming to America is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis, and based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, who also starred in the lead role. The film also co-stars Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Shari Headley and John Amos. The film was released in the United States on June 29, 1988. Eddie Murphy plays Akeem Joffer, the crown prince of the fictional African nation of Zamunda, who comes to the United States in the hopes of finding a woman he can marry. The film spawned a brief U.S. television spin-off series.

Akeem Joffer, the heir to the throne of Zamunda (a fictional African kingdom), lives a pampered lifestyle with every daily task performed by servants. Akeem has become fed up with this and wishes to do more for himself. The final straw comes when his parents, King Jaffe and Queen Aeoleon, present him with an arranged bride-to-be named Imani Izzi, whom he has never met and who has been trained to obey Akeem's every command. Akeem concocts a plan to travel to the United States to find an intelligent, independent-minded woman he can both love and respect, and who will love Akeem for who he is and not for his wealth and social status as a prince. Akeem and his best friend/personal aide, Semmi, flip a coin to decide between going to either Los Angeles or New York City, and end up going to New York City. They end up in the borough of Queens and rent a run-down apartment in the neighborhood of Long Island City, passing themselves off as poor foreign students. They begin working at a local fast food restaurant called McDowell's—an obvious ripoff of McDonald's—owned by widower Cleo McDowell and his two daughters, Lisa and Patrice.