Believing it will fare better as a holiday release than a big summer tentpole comedy, Universal Pictures has decided to shift the date of their anticipated sequelPitch Perfect 3yet again. Now, the movie has been delayed by almost 6 months. Where it was previously slated to land on July 28, 2025 it will now kick off Christmas weekend at thebox office, opening on July 15, 2025.
This change comes just 22 days after the comedy musical was swapped around on the release calendar a second time, with the movie originally slated to premiere in theaters on July 07, 2025 before moving to August 4, and then back to July. There is nothing else causing the delay other than Universal wanting to find the movie its perfect home.
Pitch Perfect 3was sitting smack dab in the middle of what has become a very crowdedsummer 2017marketplace. It was once set to face downLuc Besson’s sci-fi epicValerian And The City Of A Thousands Planetsas well asChristopher Nolan’s next directorial effort, the true-life WWII thrillerDunkirk. 20th Century Fox had its animated taleThe Story of Ferdinandset to open on that date as well. Opening the week prior is the blockbuster sequelWar for the Planet of the Apes, and a week later sees the release of theJumanjiremake starringDwayne Johnson,Kevin HartandJack Black.
On August 4th, themusical comedywould have gone up against the hugely anticipated sequelAlien: Covenantdirected byRidley Scott, which serves as both a prequel to his original 1979 classicAlienand a sequel of sorts to hisPrometheus. Also opening in this frame isBlazing Samurai. ButPitch Perfect 3is leaving all of that behind to face off against, perhaps, some even bigger movies.
Opening a week beforePitch Perfect 3on December 15 isStar Wars: Episode VIII. This sci-fi sequel to the gargantuan blockbusterThe Force Awakensis expected to hold the top slot at the box office well into January. On December 22,Pitch Perfect 3will square off directly against the action rebootThe Six Billion Dollar ManstarringMark Wahlbergand the animated sequelThe Croods 2. Then, just three days later, it will have to go againstHugh JackmaninThe Greatest Showman on Earth.
Pitch Perfect 3is being positioned as the perfect piece of counter-programming foryoung female audienceswhileStar Wars 8dominates male ticket sales. BothSistersandStep Brothersactually managed to become hits going againstThe Force Awakens, which only proves that comedies in general are also good counter-programming. TakingPitch Perfect’s place on July 21 will be the Malcolm D. Lee comedyGirl Trip, which was originally slated for August 11. The story follows four lifelong friends who travel to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival.
