‘Pitch Perfect 3’ Release Date Changed Again

Fans that are eagerly waiting for Pitch Perfect 3 should probably give up guessing when it will come out, because Universal Pictures has changed the release date for the fourth time. When the third installment in the series was first announced, the release date was going to be July 21, 2017. Last fall, the date changed to August 4, 2017, when Pacific Rim 2 was pushed. Then earlier this month, Universal announced that they were going back to the original July 21, 2017, date so that they were not going up against Alien: Covenant.

Today, the Pitch Perfect Twitter account tweeted that we were going to be getting a Christmas time release, saying “Have yourself a merry little #Pitchmas” along with announcing that the new release date will be December 22, 2017.

Have yourself a merry little #Pitchmas. #PitchPerfect3 hits theaters December 22, 2017. pic.twitter.com/ZCmtmqPMJD

— Pitch Perfect (@PitchPerfect) 31 May 2016

The Bellas are going to have some stiff competition during the holiday 2017 season, with Star Wars: Episode VIII hitting theaters December 15, 2017, and The Six Billion Dollar Man starring Mark Wahlberg coming out on December 22, 2017. With such serious movies on tap, Pitch Perfect 3 will be trying to tap into moviegoers who are looking for a comedy during the holiday season.

Pitch Perfect 3 will see all of our favorites ladies back again, with Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, and Brittany Snow having announced they were signed on while the second movie was still in theaters. Elizabeth Banks directed Pitch Perfect 2 and will be a triple threat in the third installment returning as a director, as well as reprising her role as the hilarious and sarcastic competition commentator Gail Abernathy-McKadden, and producing the movie alongside her husband, Max Handelman.

Riding high on the success of the hit TV show, Glee, the first Pitch Perfect movie brought in an impressive $115 million when it came out in 2013. Pitch Perfect 2 more than doubled that number, pulling in more than $288 million worldwide. The Pitch Perfect movies follow the Barden Bellas, an all-girls a capella group, as they participate in competitions. While their biggest competition is the all-male group, the Treblemakers, the ladies often face battles within their own ranks on their way to championship glory.

No details have been released about the storyline for the Pitch Perfect 3, but considering that the ladies were in their last year at Barden University during the second film, it seems unlikely that it will follow the same formula of the first two installments. Hailee Steinfeld joined the cast as a freshman Bella in Part 2, with a chunk of the story being focused on the older ladies passing the torch on, and them having their swan song before moving on to adulthood. Anna Camp played the leader of the Bellas in the first movie, and appeared in the second as a “consultant” to the group, but given that a large part of the appeal for fans is the singing, it is very likely that the ladies will be involved in a singing competition of some sort. Kendrick was the first to announce that she would be back for Pitch Perfect 3 with an Instagram post of her holding up three fingers.

Although she had appeared in several other movies, the Pitch Perfect franchise helped Rebel Wilson become a household name, with her character, Fat Amy, being one of the most popular. After seeing her in Bridesmaids, it was clear that she had the funny part down, but many were surprised to see that she could hold her own in the singing department, as well.

It is hard to say whether Universal Pictures will change the December 22, 2017, release date again, but for now, fans can plan to spend Christmas Break 2017 at the movie theater cheering on their favorite a capella group. At a minimum, Pitch Perfect 3 will give those of us that are not huge Star Wars fans something to look forward to!

[Image via Universal Pictures]