For a movie that suffered from its fair share of twists, turns, and setbacks during development, it’s fascinating to think how differently 1980s action cinema could have evolved if Beverly Hills Cop had turned out any other way than it did.
Mickey Rourke was the first name offered the role of Axel Foley, while Martin Scorsese and David Cronenberg both turned down the chance to direct. Sylvester Stallone famously came aboard and rewrote the entire script to the studio’s dissatisfaction, which ultimately let to the actor taking his ideas and turning them into cult classic Cobra instead.
In the hands of Eddie Murphy and Martin Brest, Beverly Hills Cop would go on to spend 13 weeks at the top of the domestic box office, become the highest-grossing release of 1984 after earning $316 million on a $13 million budget, score Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture and Best Actor in the Musical or Comedy category, win a Grammy for Best Soundtrack, and launch a $700+ million franchise that still isn’t over, none of which would have happened under any other circumstances.
Almost 40 years later, and the introduction to the fast-talking streetwise Detroit cop solving a case while on a sojourn to Los Angeles continues to bring in the crowds on streaming. As per FlixPatrol, the all-timer of an action comedy currently sits as the fifth most-watched title on the Paramount Plus charts, having snagged a Top 10 position in 18 countries.
The fourth installment remains in development at Netflix, but should it ever make it onto the screen, there’s virtually no chance it’ll compare to the OG.
