The 30 Best Eddie Murphy Movies of All Time!
From 'Beverly Hills Cop' to 'Trading Places,' Moviefone counts down the greatest movies of Eddie Murphy's career.
Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley in 'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.' Courtesy of Netflix © 2024.
Eddie Murphy is one of the greatest stand-up comics and movie stars of all time!
The Oscar-nominated actor's films have grossed over $6 billion dollars at the box office, and Murphy received the prestigious Cecil B. Demille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press at the 2023 Golden Globes.
The long-awaited forth installment of 'Beverly Hills Cop', entitled 'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F', will premiere on Netflix July 3rd.
In honor of his new film, Moviefone has compiled a list of the 30 best Eddie Murphy movies of all-time, including his latest.
Let's begin!
30. 'Mulan' (1998)
Walt Disney Pictures
To save her father (Soon-Tek Oh) from certain death in the army, a young woman named Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) secretly enlists in his place and becomes one of China's greatest heroines in the process. Murphy plays Mushu, a Chinese dragon that is Mulan's sidekick.
Mulan
29. 'I Spy' (2002)
When the Switchblade, the most sophisticated prototype stealth fighter created yet, is stolen from the U.S. government, one of the United States' top spies, Alex Scott (Owen Wilson), is called to action. What he doesn't expect is to get teamed up with a cocky civilian, World Class Boxing Champion Kelly Robinson (Murphy), on a dangerous top secret espionage mission. Their assignment: using equal parts skill and humor, catch Arnold Gundars (Malcolm McDowell), one of the world's most successful arms dealers.
28. 'Another 48 Hrs.' (1990)
For the past four years, San Francisco cop Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) has been after an unidentified drug kingpin who calls himself the Ice Man. Jack finds a picture that proves that the Ice Man has put a price on the head of Reggie Hammond (Murphy), who is scheduled to be released from prison on the next day.
27. 'You People' (2023)
A new couple (Jonah Hill and Lauren London) and their families (Murphy and Nia Long, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and David Duchovny) reckon with modern love amid culture clashes, societal expectations and generational differences.
26. 'Vampire in Brooklyn' (1995)
Maximillian (Murphy), the lone survivor of a race of vampires, comes to Brooklyn in search of a way to live past the next full moon. His ticket to survival is Rita (Angela Bassett), a NYPD detective who doesn't know she's half vampire -- and Maximillian will do whatever's necessary to put her under his spell.
25. 'Coming 2 America' (2021)
Amazon Studios
Prince Akeem Joffer (Murphy) is set to become King of Zamunda when he discovers he has a son he never knew about in America – a street savvy Queens native named Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler). Honoring his royal father's (James Earl Jones) dying wish to groom this son as the crown prince, Akeem and Semmi (Arsenio Hall) set off to America once again.
24. 'Doctor Dolittle' (1998)
A successful physician and devoted family man, John Dolittle (Murphy) seems to have the world by the tail, until a long suppressed talent he possessed as a child, the ability to communicate with animals is suddenly reawakened with a vengeance! Now every creature within squawking distance wants the good doctor's advice, unleashing an outrageous chain of events that turns his world upside down!
23. 'Shrek 2' (2004)
Shrek (Mike Myers), Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and Donkey (Murphy) set off to Far, Far Away to meet Fiona's mother (Julie Andrews) and father (John Cleese). But not everyone is happy. Shrek and the King find it hard to get along, and there's tension in the marriage. The fairy godmother (Jennifer Saunders) discovers that Shrek has married Fiona instead of her Son Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) and sets about destroying their marriage.
22. 'Life' (1999)
Two men (Murphy and Martin Lawrence) in 1930s Mississippi become friends after being sentenced to life in prison together for a crime they did not commit.
21. 'Nutty Professor II: The Klumps' (2000)
The hilarity begins when professor Sherman Klump (Murphy) finds romance with fellow DNA specialist, Denise Gaines (Janet Jackson), and discovers a brilliant formula that reverses aging. But Sherman's thin and obnoxious alter ego, Buddy Love, wants out...and a big piece of the action. And when Buddy gets loose, things get seriously nutty.
20. 'Tower Heist' (2011)
Universal Pictures
A luxury condo manager (Ben Stiller) leads a staff of workers to seek payback on the Wall Street swindler who defrauded them. With only days until the billionaire gets away with the perfect crime, the unlikely crew of amateur thieves enlists the help of petty crook named Slide (Murphy) to steal the $20 million they’re sure is hidden in the penthouse.
19. 'Shrek Forever After' (2010)
A bored and domesticated Shrek (Mike Myers) pacts with deal-maker Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) to get back to feeling like a real ogre again, but when he's duped and sent to a twisted version of Far Far Away—where Rumpelstiltskin is king, ogres are hunted, and he and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) have never met—he sets out to restore his world and reclaim his true love.
18. 'Metro' (1997)
Roper (Murphy), a hostage negotiator catches a murderous bank robber after a blown heist. The bank robber (Michael Wincott) escapes and immediately goes after the man who put him behind bars.
Metro
17. 'The Distinguished Gentleman' (1992)
A Florida con man (Murphy) uses the passing of the long time Congressman from his district who he just happens to share a name with, to get elected to his version of paradise, Congress, where the money flows from lobbyists. But soon he learns the nature of the game and decides to fight back the only way he knows how, with a con.
The Distinguished Gentleman
A Florida con man uses the passing of the long time Congressman from his district, who he just happens to share a name with, to get elected to his version of paradise-... Read the Plot
16. 'Boomerang' (1992)
Marcus (Murphy) is a successful advertising executive who woos and beds women almost at will. After a company merger he finds that his new boss, the ravishing Jacqueline (Robin Givens), is treating him in exactly the same way. Completely traumatised by this, his work goes badly downhill.
15. 'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F' (2024)
(L to R) John Ashton as Chief John Taggart, Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley and Judge Reinhold as Billy Rosewood in 'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.' Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/Netflix ©2024.
Detective Axel Foley (Murphy) is back on the beat in Beverly Hills. After his daughter’s life is threatened, she (Taylour Paige) and Foley team up with a new partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and old pals Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton) to turn up the heat and uncover a conspiracy.
14. 'Mr. Church' (2016)
A unique friendship develops when a little girl (Britt Robertson) and her dying mother (Natascha McElhone) inherit a cook - Mr. Church (Murphy). What begins as an arrangement that should only last six months, instead spans fifteen years.
Mr. Church
13. 'Harlem Nights' (1989)
'Sugar' Ray (Richard Pryor) is the owner of an illegal casino where he and his son Quick (Murphy), must contend with the pressure of vicious gangsters and corrupt police who want to see them go out of business. In a world of organized crime and police corruption in the 1920s, any dastardly trick is fair.
12. 'The Golden Child' (1986)
After a Tibetan boy, the mystical Golden Child (J. L. Reate), is kidnapped by the evil Sardo Numspa (Charles Dance), humankind's fate hangs in the balance. On the other side of the world in Los Angeles, the priestess Kee Nang (Charlotte Lewis) seeks the Chosen One, who will save the boy from death. When Nang sees social worker Chandler Jarrell (Murphy) on television discussing his ability to find missing children, she solicits his expertise, despite his skepticism over being "chosen."
11. 'Beverly Hills Cop II' (1987)
On the run from a lethal assassin, a wily con artist (Frank Grillo) devises a scheme to hide out inside a small-town police station. However, when the hit man (Butler) turns up at the precinct, an unsuspecting rookie cop (Alexis Louder) finds herself caught in the crosshairs.
10. 'Eddie Murphy Raw' (1987)
Eddie Murphy in 'Eddie Murphy Raw'. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Eddie Murphy delights, shocks and entertains with dead-on celebrity impersonations, observations on '80s love, sex and marriage, a remembrance of Mom's hamburgers and much more.
9. 'Shrek' (2001)
It ain't easy bein' green -- especially if you're a likable (albeit smelly) ogre named Shrek (Mike Myers). On a mission to retrieve a gorgeous princess (Cameron Diaz) from the clutches of a fire-breathing dragon, Shrek teams up with an unlikely compatriot -- a wisecracking donkey (Murphy).
8. 'Trading Places' (1983)
A snobbish investor (Dan Aykroyd) and a wily street con-artist (Murphy) find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires (Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche).
Trading Places
7. 'Bowfinger' (1999)
On the verge of bankruptcy and desperate for his big break, aspiring filmmaker Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) concocts a crazy plan to make his ultimate dream movie. Rallying a ragtag team that includes a starry-eyed ingenue (Heather Graham), a has-been diva (Christine Baranski) and a film studio gofer (Jamie Kennedy), he sets out to shoot a blockbuster featuring the biggest star in Hollywood, Kit Ramsey (Murphy) -- only without letting Ramsey know he's in the picture.
6. 'The Nutty Professor' (1996)
Eddie Murphy stars as shy Dr. Sherman Klump, a kind, brilliant, 'calorifically challenged' genetic professor. When beautiful Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett Smith) joins the university faculty, Sherman grows desperate to whittle his 400-pound frame down to size and win her heart. So, with one swig of his experimental fat-reducing serum, Sherman becomes 'Buddy Love', a fast-talking, pumped-up, plumped down Don Juan.
The Nutty Professor
5. '48 Hrs.' (1982)
(L to R) Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy in '48 hrs.' Photo: Paramount Pictures.
A hard-nosed cop (Nick Nolte) reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal (Murphy) temporarily paroled to him, in order to track down a killer (James Remar).
4. 'Dreamgirls' (2006)
A trio of female soul singers (Beyoncé Knowles, Anika Noni Rose and Jennifer Hudson) cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way. Murphy received an Oscar-nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performances as James (Jimmy) "Thunder" Early.
3. 'Dolemite Is My Name' (2019)
The story of Rudy Ray Moore (Murphy), who created the iconic big screen pimp character Dolemite in the 1970s.
2. 'Coming to America' (1988)
An African prince (Murphy) decides it’s time for him to find a princess... and his mission leads him and his most loyal friend (Arsenio Hall) to Queens, New York. In disguise as an impoverished immigrant, the pampered prince quickly finds himself a new job, new friends, new digs, new enemies and lots of trouble.
Coming to America
1. 'Beverly Hills Cop' (1984)
Eddie Murphy in 'Beverly Hills Cop'. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
The heat is on in this fast paced action-comedy starring Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street smart Detroit cop tracking down his best friend's (James Russo) killer in Beverly Hills. Axel quickly learns that his wild style doesn't fit in with the Beverly Hills Police Department, which assigns two officers (John Ashton and Judge Reinhold) to make sure things don't get out of hand. Dragging the stuffy detectives along for the ride, Axel smashes through a huge culture clash in his hilarious, high-speed pursuit of justice. Also featuring Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot and Damon Wayans, 'Beverly Hills Cop' is an exhilarating, sidesplitting adventure.
Beverly Hills Cop
