Pitch Perfect is an American musical comedy media franchise created by Kay Cannon, loosely based on the non-fiction book Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate a Cappella Glory by Mickey Rapkin. Jason Moore directed the first film, Elizabeth Banks directed the second, and Trish Sie directed the third. Paul Brooks, Max Handelman, and Banks produced the films. The film series features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine, Ben Platt, Alexis Knapp, Hana Mae Lee, Ester Dean, Hailee Steinfeld, Chrissie Fit, John Michael Higgins, and Banks; while the television series stars DeVine. The series is distributed by Universal Pictures.
The franchise is about a female a cappella group, called The Barden Bellas, that takes part in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) in order to become the best collegiate a cappella group in the world and sing in front of the president of the United States.
The first film was a sleeper hit. It received positive reviews and was financially successful, grossing over $115 million against a $17 million budget. A sequel was made and released in 2015, to greater financial success, grossing over $287 million against a $29 million budget. The series has since gained a cult following, grossing $565 million worldwide, and the second film is the highest grossing musical comedy film of all time, beating School of Rocks record.
Films
Pitch Perfect (2012)
Beca Mitchell (Anna Kendrick), a rebellious and unwilling freshman at Barden University, joins a disgraced all-female a cappella group, The Barden Bellas, directed by uptight senior student Aubrey Posen (Anna Camp). The film follows the unlikely new formation of The Barden Bellas which has to struggle to win at the collegiate a cappella competition.
Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)
Set three years after the first film, The Bellas are the leading a cappella group with Beca as the leader until Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) accidentally rips her pants during a performance, effectively suspending the group. They could be reinstated if they win an international a cappella competition, where no American team has ever won. With new members, tough competition, and doubts everywhere from almost everyone, they try to regain their glory, only to find it harder than it looks with their focus being split up and losing their harmony along the way.
Pitch Perfect 3 (2017)
Two years after the second film, the now graduated Bellas find themselves split apart and struggling with their real life jobs. However, after a brief reunion, Aubrey comes up with an idea to perform for the USO tour, which will reunite them for a series of shows. The Bellas go overseas for the USO where they find out that they are actually competing with other bands on tour to be the opening act for DJ Khaled.
Television series
Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin (2022)
In September 2021, it was announced that a television series based on the film series had been ordered at Peacock for a 2022 release, with Adam DeVine reprising his role as Bumper Allen. It will be written by Megan Amram, who will also serve as executive producer and showrunner and Elizabeth Banks serve as executive producer. In March 2022, Sarah Hyland, Jameela Jamil, and Lera Abova were announced to be joining the cast alongside Flula Borg, who is reprising his role as Piëter Krämer from the second film.
Development of the first film
Development and production
The film is based on Mickey Rapkin's non-fiction book Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate a Cappella Glory. Rapkin, senior editor at GQ magazine, spent a season covering competitive collegiate a cappella. He followed the Tufts University Beelzebubs, the University of Oregon Divisi (the loose inspiration for the Bellas), and the University of Virginia Hullabahoos, who have a cameo in the film. Rapkin's book mainly covers the singing, groupies, partying and rivalries. Two members of the a cappella community, Deke Sharon, who founded the International Championship of College A Cappella, and Ed Boyer, both in Rapkin's book, were brought on board to arrange songs, produce vocals and act as on-site music directors, where they ran a month-long "a cappella boot camp". The film was shot throughout campus and inside buildings at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Elizabeth Banks is a co-producer and a co-star in the film.