Coming 2 America to Host Drive-In Premiere in 'Film's Backyard' of Queens

Coming 2 America — and to Queens, New York, for a special drive-in premiere.

The sequel film, starring Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, will be screened to 200 cars at Flushing Meadows Corona Park on March 5, the same day it begins streaming on Amazon Prime, according to multiple outlets.

"Coming to America is the quintessential, iconic Queens film, and we are beyond thrilled to host one of the only screenings of its sequel, Coming 2 America, right here in the film's backyard," said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. in a press release.

The 6:30 p.m. EST screening will include free food and merchandise from Amazon Studios. Tickets are free with an RSVP but already sold out, Deadline reported.

Drive-in theaters experienced a surge in popularity last year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic shuttering movie theaters in most states. At the Queens Drive-In, premieres and special screenings were held in 2020 for films like Borat, Freaky, and One Night in Miami. Screenings at the venue are set to continue through June.

Coming 2 America, the follow-up to the original 1988 film Coming to America, will see Eddie, 59, reprise his role of Prince Akeem, and Hall, 65, as his best friend Semmi. The sequel film finds Akeem traveling back to America to find his long-lost son, a Queens native named Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler).

James Earl Jones, Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan Teyana Taylor, KiKi Layne and Garcelle Beauvais will appear in the upcoming movie.

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Bella Murphy, the Oscar nominee's 19-year-old daughter, also appears in the sequel. On Wednesday, the teen spoke to Good Morning America about the first time she saw her dad's beloved film.

"I think when I watched it the first time, I was really young and it was the first time I had seen Black royalty on the screen, and on top of it it was my dad, so that was really cool for me and very empowering," said Bella.

Eddie added that Bella, who he shares with ex-wife Nicole Mitchell, did not receive special treatment to star in the film. "She had to audition for Craig Brewer, who directed. I was not muscling my kid into the movie, she had to really be able to deliver, otherwise she wouldn't have gotten the role," he told GMA.

In a recent interview with Essence, Eddie opened up about the film's importance, telling the publication, "The legacy of Coming to America is that it is unique, it's rare."

"Black people, we don't get a lot of movies like this one. Coming to America is a romantic fantasy comedy," he said. "Usually, when we see ourselves on the screen, it's heavy things … Rarely do we get just to go see some escapism. Just to go see a movie and not have to think about any of that stuff."

Coming 2 America is available to stream March 5 on Amazon Prime Video.

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