'Pitch Perfect 2': Can the sequel recapture the original comedy's success?
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
The "Pitch Perfect鈥� movie series has already defied expectations once with its first film, which found unexpected success.
The first movie, which stars 鈥淚nto the Woods鈥� actress Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson of 鈥淧ain & Gain,鈥� and 鈥�Hairspray鈥� actress Brittany Snow, among others, as members of a college a cappella group, was released in October 2012 and studio Universal tried out an unusual strategy for the film, promoting it heavily on social media and releasing it in limited theaters at first.
It wasn鈥檛 clear at first whether it would pay off, according to website . 鈥淭he movie has an appealing cast including聽Anna Kendrick and聽Bridesmaids scene-stealer聽Rebel Wilson, and should do a decent job tapping in to the younger female audience that's made聽鈥楪lee鈥櫬爏uch a hit,鈥� BMO writer Ray Subers wrote before the movie鈥檚 release. 鈥淪till, the campaign seems overly-reliant on social network word-of-mouth, which is tough to quantify, and the relatively-untested release strategy could backfire as well.鈥�
However, 鈥淧itch鈥� became a surprise hit, performing above expectations at the box office (it eventually grossed more than $65 million domestically). It was also fairly well-received by critics, with Associated Press writer Christy Lemire being one reviewer who was won over. 鈥淐heeky and snarky but with an infectious energy鈥� It's ridiculous and predictable but also just a ton of fun,鈥� she wrote.
In addition, the movie succeeded beyond the movie theater. It sold well on DVD (according to writer Thomas K. Arnold, it was "the holiday season's top overperformer in terms of home video sales") and, according to , the movie鈥檚 soundtrack peaked at third on the Billboard 200, the chart for albums of any genre, while Kendrick鈥檚 song from the film, 鈥淐ups,鈥� peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100.
So can a sequel recapture the success? 鈥淧itch Perfect 2鈥� is set to hit theaters this May, and 鈥淧itch鈥� star Elizabeth Banks is directing the sequel as well as appearing in the film. Banks told she鈥檚 aware there鈥檚 more attention this time around. 鈥淭he first film flew under the radar, and it was a gift,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his time around, much higher stakes.鈥�
