Coming 2 America is the most-streamed film in a single weekend during COVID

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Eddie Murphy and Amazon can celebrate a big victory according to a recent survey. Coming 2 America, the highly-anticipated sequel to 1988's Coming To America, has been named the most-watched streaming movie in a single weekend during the pandemic. 

Amazon brings us this news via the rating firm Screen Engine/ASI. In a statement released on Monday, Head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke explained how their acquisition of the film from Paramount Pictures paid off over its debut weekend:

"The Zamunda Royal family has arrived and audiences around the globe welcomed them enthusiastically! The premiere of Coming 2 America has far exceeded any of our wildest expectations. It's clear an entire new generation of fans have joined the enormous loyal fanbase who already adored the magical world created by global phenom Eddie Murphy, the incredibly talented filmmaking team, and the hilarious, all-star cast of existing and newly-cemented legends. Coming 2 America is the perfectly fun, celebratory, escapist, feel-good comedy movie that worldwide audiences needed."

Like most streaming services that aren't exactly transparent with their numbers, exact viewership data hasn't been revealed but the news from Screen Engine shows that Coming 2 America outperformed the debut weekend of fellow Amazon comedy sequel Boral Subsequent Moviefilm, which hit the platform last October. The data also suggests that the comedy sequel was seen by more viewers on a given weekend than other major releases on competing streamers like Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max. According to Screen Engine, the film also came out ahead of other high-profile movies that were released recently like the animated sequel The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run which premiered with the launch of Paramount+ on March 4, 2021. Data has yet to be released for Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon, which also debuted over the weekend on Disney+ for an extra cost of $30 on the platform.

Directed by Craig Brewer, Coming 2 America finds Akeem (Murphy) learning that he has a long-lost son in the United States and now he must return to America to meet the unlikely heir to the throne of Zamunda. Penned by Kenya Barris, Barry W. Blaustein, and David Sheffield, with a story by Blaustein, David Sheffield, and Justin Kanew, the film also stars Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Shari Headley, Louie Anderson, John Amos, Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, Jermaine Fowler, Bella Murphy, Rotimi, KiKi Layne, Nomzamo Mbatha and Teyana Taylor. It'll be interesting to see what the long-term impact of Coming 2 America will be given the mixed response from critics and even some viewers. The film is 52% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing and the audience score comes in lower at 47%. Despite the lukewarm response, Amazon can claim bragging rights for its debut launch which will likely more than justify the $125 million that was spent for the global rights of the film.

Did YOU watch Coming 2 America over the weekend?