Every Eddie Murphy Movie, Ranked
Updated January 2023 to add You People.
After a successful stand-up career in the 1970s and a wildly acclaimed run on Saturday Night Live in the early 1980s, Eddie Murphy launched his film career (while still on SNL) in 1982 and has been appearing on the big screen fairly steadily in the decades since, starring in over 40 titles. To date, Murphy's films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide, but only occasionally has the material on screen matched Murphy's comedic talents—and, even when it has, reviews have sometimes been less positive than you might expect. In the gallery above, we rank all of his films to date (including his newest, Coming 2 America) from worst to best by Metascore, which reflects the consensus of professional critics for each film.
The best-reviewed live-action film featuring Murphy in a lead role, 2019's Dolemite was a comeback for the star, ending a seven-year period with no major releases (and a 13-year drought since his last well-reviewed film). The Netflix original film is a comedic biopic that stars Murphy as 1970w comedian and blaxploitation filmmaker Rudy Ray Moore, and the colorful role suited the actor, earning Murphy his first Golden Globe nomination since Dreamgirls.
“In playing a man who was so clearly among his comic ancestors and influences, we see, for the first time in a long time, Murphy’s sheer joy of performance, the thing that made his early work in films like '48 HRS.' and 'Beverly Hills Cop' so electrifying.” —Jason Bailey, The Playlist