Eddie Murphy Signs New Deal w/ Amazon Studios

After a successful first impression with one of the biggest films of 2021, Eddie Murphy has agreed to a new three-picture deal with Amazon Studios.

Announced early Wednesday morning, the comedy legend will star in three films for Amazon and develop original film projects for Prime Video. The deal comes off the success of Murphy’s film “Coming to America 2” which Amazon Prime Video released on March 5th, 2021. The film was an instant success, becoming the No. 1 streaming movie of the weekend, with the No. 1 opening weekend of any other streaming movie in 2021 to date and No. 1 opening weekend of any streaming movie in the past 12 months (post-Covid theater closures), per third-party Screen Engine/ASI’s weekly PostVODTM ranking. The film also topped Nielsen’s weekly streaming rankings among all streamed SVOD content.

“Eddie is a legend both in front of and behind the camera,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said in a statement. “With undeniable comedic and dramatic genius, he consistently delivers entertaining, original stories and characters to audiences around the world. We could not be more excited to help carry on the tradition and to officially welcome Eddie into the Amazon family.”

Murphy’s has racked up several $100 million-grossing pictures during the past four decades, from Beverly Hills Cop to Daddy Day Care. His recent turn as underground comic personality Rudy Ray Moore in Netflix’s Dolemite Is My Name landed two Golden Globes for Best Picture Comedy/Musical and Murphy in the Lead Actor Motion Picture Musical or Comedy categories. He also notched a Critics Choice Association nomination for Best Actor. Last year, received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his return to Saturday Night Live.

Up next, Murphy is producing and starring in Netflix’s Beverly Hills Cop 4 and will star opposite Jonah Hill in a Kenya Barris-directed comedy for Netflix.