Paramount Didn't Want To Release One Of Eddie Murphy's Biggest Box Office Hits

John Landis' 1988 hit film "Coming to America," arguably the all-time perfect star vehicle for comedic genius Eddie Murphy, is a fish-out-of-water comedy about a wealthy man — in this case, the prince of African royalty — who has to learn to adjust to impoverished life in '80s New York City. Fish-out-water comedies have been produced in every era of comedy writing, but tales of kooky outsiders adjusting to life in America seemed to be shockingly common in the cinema of the 1980s ... and that fact could've prevented the film from becoming a reality. 

Eddie Murphy made fish-out-of-water comedies his métier for several years. In 1983, he starred in Landis' hit "Trading Places," wherein he played an impoverished drug dealer who was thrust into wealth by some rich jerks who had a bet. In 1984, he led the breakthrough hit "Beverly Hills Cop" (originally conceived as a dark drama with Sylvester Stallone) about a Detroit police detective, Axel Foley, adjusting to life in Los Angeles. There were "Cop" sequels in 1987, 1994, and 2024.

In "Coming to America," Murphy played the rich Prince Akeem of Zamunda who, uncomfortable with being betrothed, sneaks away to New York to live like a New Yorker and find a bride organically. Murphy played four roles. His co-star, Arsenio Hall, also played four roles. "Coming to America" was the second highest-grossing movie of 1988, domestically, but the movie almost didn't happen at all, according to Hall. The actor appeared on the podcast "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend" to discuss his extensive career, including "Coming to America," where he revealed that Paramount nearly turned down the film because there had been too many similar comedies recently. 

In "Coming to America," Arsenio Hall played Prince Akeem's personal aide Semmi, as well as Reverend Brown, Morris the barber, and a female bar patron. Hall recalls that the film, while it was still being pitched, spent a few moments dangling over the garbage can. It was too similar, Paramount said, to other hits. In Hall's words: 

"They turned 'Coming to America' down. [...] We went and pitched it at Paramount and they said, 'No, thank you.' And we were like, 'Give us some notes. What should we do?' And they were like, 'We're not sure, but you know, it's a fish out of water. We've seen this a billion times.'"

It seems that they did get a constructive note from the pitch meeting to Paramount, though. Paramount president Ned Tanen evidently was the one who suggested that Murphy play multiple roles. That was something Murphy took to heart, and as mentioned, played four roles in the film. This was a schtick he would resurrect for films like Wes Craven's "Vampire in Brooklyn" and "The Nutty Professor." 

To make it perfectly clear, "Coming to America" was a giant, giant hit. In 1988, only "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" beat it at the domestic box office. It was followed on the box office charts by several other high-profile comedies like "Big" (a fish-out-of-water comedy) and "'Crocodile' Dundee II" (a fish-out-of-water comedy). The top 10 movies that year boasted only one sequel and one remake — it was a different time. The fact that Paramount eventually capitulated and released "Coming to America" to fistfuls of cash and widespread acclaim was, by all measures, the correct decision.