All three Pitch Perfect movies brought plenty of comedy and, of course, fun a cappella performances to the big screen, but that isn’t to say they’re created equal. The film franchise starring Anna Kendrick combined the raunchy college comedy with the teen jukebox musical, and this certainly seemed to work for a wide range of audiences. Together, the Pitch Perfect films brought in around $588 million at the global box office (via Box Office Mojo), which isn’t too shabby for a musical comedy. Still, each left a different level of impact.
The Pitch Perfect movie trilogy follows Beca Mitchell (Kendrick), who joins an a cappella group called the Barden Bellas during her freshman year of college. Though reluctant to participate at first, she ultimately grows close with her fellow Bellas and falls in love with Jesse (Skylar Astin), the member of a rival a cappella group. Each subsequent Pitch Perfect film continues this clear love and dedication for music while also taking the absurd breed of comedy seen in the first film up a notch or two. Overall, the films are a great deal of fun, especially for music lovers—but which one is the best?
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3 Pitch Perfect 3 (2017)
Pitch Perfect’s concept had fallen flat by the threequel.
Pitch Perfect 3 was always advertised as the franchise’s last hurrah, which is evident throughout the film. The majority of the Bellas introduced in the first film, including Kendrick’s Beca, have graduated from Barden and are trying to make it out in the world. However, things aren’t going particularly well for anyone, which inspires them all to get back together for one last European tour. This time around, there is a brand new twist for the final performance—the a cappella group won’t be singing a cappella.
As little as the Bellas singing with an orchestra makes sense, Pitch Perfect 3 spent even less time trying to justify the rest of the plot. Though these films have always had a sort of self-aware comedy, the threequel took this to a whole new level. In its effort to poke fun at itself and make it clear that this was definitely the last installment in the franchise, Pitch Perfect 3 almost felt as if it was making fun of audiences as well, and this didn’t quite land the same way. Additionally, the individual storylines of the different characters were far less interesting or satisfying than in the past films. Ultimately, it’s no surprise that this franchise capper only managed a 28 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.
2 Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)
Pitch Perfect 2 was a lot of fun but didn’t quite hold up to the original.
Pitch Perfect 2 had the advantage of following up on the original movie’s success, and it did well enough at taking advantage of this. The film picks up during Beca’s senior year of college as she is beginning to figure out what she wants to do with her life, and perhaps the most satisfying thing about this is how much more comfortable she is in her skin than freshman year (she’s far less angsty). The plot of Pitch Perfect 2 was a rather clever segue from the first film, too—rather than the Bellas getting too boring, they have now begun to go a little over the top with their performances, and this leads to an embarrassing accident in which Rebel Wilson’s Amy shows her bare crotch to the audience (including President and First Lady Obama).
To prove to the world that they still deserve a chance to perform, Pitch Perfect‘s Barden Bellas take to a global competition, and Beca has to figure out how to bring something fresh aside from her usual mashups. Of course, said mashups were a significant part of what made Pitch Perfect so fun. Though the song “Flashlight” was a great effort at bringing something new to the table, Pitch Perfect 2 felt like a lackluster imitation of the original film. Still, this second installment had the highest box office of the trilogy, bringing in $287 million globally—but the financial success was likely off the coattails of the first Pitch Perfect.
1 Pitch Perfect (2012)
Pitch Perfect perfectly used audiences’ expectations against them.
Ultimately, the sequels just couldn’t compare with the original Pitch Perfect. The film came right in the middle of the TV series Glee, and something of a similar breed was expected for the Kendrick film. However, the unique brand of comedy allowed it to appeal to far more than the teenage audience that was at the center target. Pitch Perfect saw the introduction of each of the hilarious Bellas, including Wilson’s Amy, Brittany Snow’s Chloe, and Anna Camp’s difficult but lovable Aubrey, to name a few. Then, there were the ever-inappropriate commentators John and Gail (played by John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks, respectively).
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Overall, Pitch Perfect worked because it introduced this new premise, luring audiences in with excellent mixes of popular songs paired with impactful vocal performances and outrageous comedy. In the broader scheme of things, it’s a simple concept, which is why it was difficult to keep fresh across multiple films. However, for the OG, it had that Sister Act effect that gets its audiences pumped up and keeps them there for the duration of the film. This is what allows Pitch Perfect to remain so fun to watch even over a decade later and why it is easily the best of the franchise.
