'Coming 2 America' Will Get Drive-In Premiere in 'Film's Backyard' of Queens

Arsenio Hall and Eddie Murphy inComing 2 America.Coming 2 America— and to Queens, New York, for a special drive-in premiere.The sequel film, starringEddie MurphyandArsenio 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 tomultipleoutlets.“Coming to Americais 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,Deadlinereported.Drive-in theatersexperienced a surge in popularity last yeardue 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 likeBorat, Freaky,andOne Night in Miami.Screenings at the venue are set to continue through June.Coming 2 America, the follow-up to the original 1988 filmComing 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 MorganTeyana Taylor,KiKi LayneandGarcelle Beauvaiswill appear in the upcoming movie.Want to get the biggest stories fromPEOPLEevery weekday?Subscribe to our new podcast,PEOPLE Every Day,to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.Bella Murphy, the Oscar nominee’s 19-year-old daughter, also appears in the sequel. On Wednesday, the teen spoke toGood Morning Americaabout 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 toldGMA.Eddie Murphy in Coming 2 America.Courtesy of Amazon StudiosIn a recent interview withEssence, Eddie opened up about the film’s importance, telling the publication, “The legacy ofComing to Americais that it is unique, it’s rare.““Black people, we don’t get a lot of movies like this one.Coming to Americais 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 Americais available to stream March 5 on Amazon Prime Video.

Arsenio Hall and Eddie Murphy inComing 2 America.

Coming 2 America— and to Queens, New York, for a special drive-in premiere.The sequel film, starringEddie MurphyandArsenio 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 tomultipleoutlets.“Coming to Americais 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,Deadlinereported.Drive-in theatersexperienced a surge in popularity last yeardue 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 likeBorat, Freaky,andOne Night in Miami.Screenings at the venue are set to continue through June.Coming 2 America, the follow-up to the original 1988 filmComing 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 MorganTeyana Taylor,KiKi LayneandGarcelle Beauvaiswill appear in the upcoming movie.Want to get the biggest stories fromPEOPLEevery weekday?Subscribe to our new podcast,PEOPLE Every Day,to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.Bella Murphy, the Oscar nominee’s 19-year-old daughter, also appears in the sequel. On Wednesday, the teen spoke toGood Morning Americaabout 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 toldGMA.Eddie Murphy in Coming 2 America.Courtesy of Amazon StudiosIn a recent interview withEssence, Eddie opened up about the film’s importance, telling the publication, “The legacy ofComing to Americais that it is unique, it’s rare.““Black people, we don’t get a lot of movies like this one.Coming to Americais 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 Americais available to stream March 5 on Amazon Prime Video.

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

The sequel film, starringEddie MurphyandArsenio 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 tomultipleoutlets.

“Coming to Americais 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,Deadlinereported.

Drive-in theatersexperienced a surge in popularity last yeardue 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 likeBorat, Freaky,andOne Night in Miami.Screenings at the venue are set to continue through June.

Coming 2 America, the follow-up to the original 1988 filmComing 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 MorganTeyana Taylor,KiKi LayneandGarcelle Beauvaiswill appear in the upcoming movie.

Want to get the biggest stories fromPEOPLEevery weekday?Subscribe to our new podcast,PEOPLE Every Day,to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.

Bella Murphy, the Oscar nominee’s 19-year-old daughter, also appears in the sequel. On Wednesday, the teen spoke toGood Morning Americaabout 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 toldGMA.

Eddie Murphy in Coming 2 America.Courtesy of Amazon Studios

In a recent interview withEssence, Eddie opened up about the film’s importance, telling the publication, “The legacy ofComing to Americais that it is unique, it’s rare.”

“Black people, we don’t get a lot of movies like this one.Coming to Americais 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 Americais available to stream March 5 on Amazon Prime Video.

source: people.com