Not bad Barden Bellas! Pitch Perfect 2 is a bonafide hit! The sequel to the cult classic movie Pitch Perfect is winning in the box office, having already grossed nearly $120 million in box office sales, according to Pro Box Office results. Now comes the news that motion picture soundtrack of the sequel is tops on the Billboard charts.
The Boston Globe is reporting that the a cappella-influenced soundtrack sold over 107,000 units , moving it to the Number 1 spot.
If you have seen Pitch Perfect 2 , then you know the energy placed into the songs from the movie. Most of them can be found on the soundtrack in their original format. The results are the same as in the movie itself.
As for the success of Pitch Perfect 2 , no one had a clue whether or not moviegoers would gravitate to the latest installment. No one expected the original film to be a hit either.
Amanda Newman, executive director of the ICCA a cappella championships acknowledges such in an article published by the Wall Street Journal.
“No one was more doubtful about [ Pitch Perfect ] than I was. But right people got their hands on it,” says Newman. She goes on to state that the depiction in the Pitch Perfect films have had a great effect in the a cappella community.
Elizabeth Banks, who co-stars in, as well directs Pitch Perfect 2, offers to NPR ‘s Audie Cornish her comparison of the movie series to sports movie genres.
“It’s a group of misfits who have to come together, who practice, who have competitions, they have to keep winning in order to keep going — so very much like a sports movie.”
Time to gather up some theme music.
“Our model was Rocky IV . Because we spent a lot of time talking about Ivan Drago — we have a new competitor, a German group called Das Sound Machine, and we wanted Das Sound Machine to sort of be like our Ivan Drago, and the Bellas are our Rocky… I think they look villainous but weirdly sexy.”
Rocky IV , or any of the Rock y movies are suitable comparisons. Ivan Drago as the antagonist is an ideal description for what the Barden Bellas had to face in Pitch Perfect 2 . Beating the big boys, such as the movies Mad Max and Tomorrowland in the box office is more like the original Rocky Balboa going up against Apollo Creed – nobody expected this movie to stand a chance. Yet here it is, doing more than hold its own during the testosterone filled movie season.
Pitch Perfect 2 has fared well in the theatres, now the on the Billboards, much like a clear underdog overcoming the odds.
Not bad Barden Bellas, not bad! What will you do for an encore – Pitch Perfect 3 , maybe?
[Photo courtesy of Twitter @goldenglobes]