Pitch Perfect 3

Pitch Perfect 3 is a 2017 American musical comedy film directed by Trish Sie and written by Kay Cannon and Mike White. A sequel to Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), and the third installment in the Pitch Perfect series, the film stars Anna Kendrick, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Hailee Steinfeld, Hana Mae Lee, Ester Dean, Chrissie Fit, Alexis Knapp, John Lithgow, Matt Lanter, Ruby Rose, Kelley Jakle, Shelley Regner, Elizabeth Banks, and John Michael Higgins. The film follows the Bellas, now graduated from college, reuniting for one final performance together during an overseas USO tour.

Principal photography on the film began in January 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia and ended in April 2017. The film was released in the United States on December 22, 2017, received reviews from critics and grossed $185 million worldwide. It became the second-highest-grossing musical comedy film of all time, behind only its predecessor.

Plot
Three years after the events of the second film, the Bellas have graduated from college but have jobs which they all hate. Desperate to see each other again to sing once more, Beca (Anna Kendrick), Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), Chloe (Brittany Snow), Aubrey (Anna Camp), Lilly (Hana Mae Lee), Stacie (Alexis Knapp), Cynthia Rose (Ester Dean), Florencia (Chrissie Fit), Jessica (Kelley Jakle), and Ashley (Shelley Regner) are all thrilled to learn that Emily (Hailee Steinfeld), now a senior at Barden and leader of the Barden Bellas, has seemingly asked for the Bellas to reunite at an event in New York Aquarium (actual film site was Georgia Aquarium) to sing with each other once more. Upon arriving at the reunion they are told that the reunion was not for the Bellas to sing together, but to watch Emily sing with the new Bellas.

They later gather at a bar in disappointment and Emily apologizes as she thought it would be the only way for them to see each other again. They all express how much they miss each other. Suddenly, Aubrey convinces them to join a USO performance accessed by her Army officer father. If they win the competition, they get to open for DJ Khaled. The Bellas gladly accept, all except for Stacie who is eight months pregnant at the moment and is unable to go with them. The Bellas later arrive at a hangar where two soldiers, Chicago (Matt Lanter) and Zeke (Troy Ian Hall) introduce them to their competition, revealed to be three other groups who use instruments, unlike the Bellas. When the band Evermoist, led by their leader Calamity (Ruby Rose) begin to mock and belittle the Bellas, the competitors are challenged to a riff-off by the Bellas, who leave defeated when the other groups compete using their musical instruments.

The Bellas are taken to a fancy hotel in Spain, where Chloe begins to catch an eye for Chicago. Fat Amy finds an old stuffed bunny sitting in her bed, which she recognizes as an old toy she used to hold when she was very little as her father Fergus (John Lithgow) sang her to sleep every night. Amy then realizes that her father is staying in the same hotel she is in and is shocked upon the discovery, seeing as how Fergus is a ruthless international crime lord. The Bellas sit in a bedroom and discuss how to improve, whilst the often ignored and undervalued Jessica and Ashley acknowledge how little the other Bellas seem to care about them. Later that night, the Bellas are invited to a party at DJ Khaled's suite at the hotel, where Fat Amy splits with the group when she is called to be at a poker tournament. The tournament was set up by Fergus, who promptly begs for Amy to be back in his life. A hesitant Amy finally agrees to do so after seeing how much he has changed. Beca develops a friendship with DJ Khaled's music producer Theo (Guy Burnet) and is taken to DJ Khaled's music editing room. Beca produces a mix which impresses Theo who is prompted to send the mix to DJ Khaled. Moments later, the party is thrown into chaos when Aubrey accidentally ignites a fire in the suite.

The Bellas are left in disgrace after the incident with no hopes of winning the competition. Stacie calls the girls to inform she has given birth to a baby girl and named her Bella. This motivates the Bellas to just perform their hearts out without trying to win. Back at the USO competition, the Bellas perform tremendously to adoring crowds through different performances, repairing their reputation and chances to win in the process. Fergus is accepted by Amy, who believes he came to one of their performances to see her. He accidentally reveals that he has not seen her perform at all, while confessing that he is only trying to acquire an offshore account Amy's mother set up which contains US$180 million. After Amy shuts out Fergus again, Chicago and Zeke escort her away from her father, who swears revenge on her. Meanwhile, only Beca is asked personally by DJ Khaled to open for him, disregarding the other Bellas. Beca politely declines the offer and leaves to her room. Later, the Bellas are taken away by a Frenchman in a van out onto a yacht in a nearby harbor. The yacht belongs to Fergus, who is using the Bellas as a means to manipulate Amy. Amy and Beca hear of the kidnapping and decide to rescue the Bellas. Beca distracts Fergus by having the Bellas perform "Toxic" for him and two of his men, just as Amy sets the yacht to explode. The Bellas escape the yacht just before it blows. Fergus survives the explosion and is arrested for his crimes.

After the Bellas are rescued by the military, Fat Amy reveals DJ Khaled's proposition to Beca to the others. They encourage her to take the chance, and they all agree that now it's time to move on with their lives, with Amy using her bank account for multiple tributes to singers named Amy, Aubrey trying to be a birthing coach, Flo's juice cart becoming part of an international brand, Chloe getting accepted into vet school, Cynthia-Rose staying at the base to get into flight school, Emily going back to Barden to prepare for her upcoming abnormal psychology test while continuing her songwriting, and Lilly revealing that the reason she was quiet was because she was possessed by Satan and the yacht incident snapped her out of it, and that her real name is Esther. They know very well they'll be separated, but still be connected to each other as a family. Later at the USO's final performance, Beca opens for DJ Khaled and sings on stage, and afterwards brings up the Bellas onstage for the girls to sing their final performance with the other competitors watching the Bellas sing "Freedom! '90".

Gail (Elizabeth Banks) and John (John Michael Higgins) (who were the Bellas' public announcers in the previous installments) finish filming the Bellas as part of a documentary they have been making about the girls throughout the whole film, only to be appalled when John realizes they didn't record the Bellas' final performance, which was supposed to be the documentary's big ending. A series of mid credit scenes reveal the Bellas' separate story arcs closed out to their mostly happy endings, with Lilly hanging around with DJ Dragon Nutz, whom she flirted with earlier, Aubrey reconnecting with her father and Chloe and Chicago kissing, witnessed by a grimaced looking Beca, who is now the boss of Theo.

The Bellas

 * Anna Kendrick as Beca Mitchell, an alumna and the former leader of the Barden Bellas, who works as a producer but quits due to creative differences, before joining the tour. She has been sharing an apartment in New York City with her best friends Chloe and Fat Amy for the last three years.
 * Rebel Wilson as Fat Amy Hobart, a super confident comedic alumna of The Barden Bellas, from Australia. She held a one-woman show, "Fat Amy Winehouse", before joining the tour.
 * Brittany Snow as Chloe Beale, a Barden Bellas alumna and former co-leader, who longs for glory days with the Bellas. She applied to attend a vet school before joining the tour.
 * Anna Camp as Aubrey Posen, a Barden Bellas alumna and former leader, before Beca, who worked at the Lodge of Fallen Leaves. Through her father, the Bellas were invited to the USO tour.
 * Hailee Steinfeld as Emily Junk, a senior student at Barden University and the current leader of the new Barden Bellas, who joins her former classmates for the tour.
 * Ester Dean as Cynthia Rose Adams, a tough tomboy Barden Bellas alumna, who failed the Flight School simulation before joining the tour.
 * Hana Mae Lee as Lilly Onakuramara/Esther, a Barden Bellas alumna known for her quiet speaking voice and odd remarks. She worked as a tailor before joining the tour.
 * Kelley Jakle as Jessica Smith, a Barden Bellas alumna, girlfriend of Ashley.
 * Shelley Regner as Ashley Jones, a Barden Bellas alumna, girlfriend of Jessica.
 * Chrissie Fit as Florencia Fuentes, a Barden Bellas alumna, from Guatemala. She worked at a juice truck before joining the tour.
 * Alexis Knapp as Stacie Conrad, a Barden Bellas alumna, known for being overly sexual. She works as a pilates instructor and despite wanting to, could not join the tour due to her pregnancy

Additional characters

 * Elizabeth Banks as Gail Abernathy-McKadden-Feinberger, an a cappella commentator making an insulting documentary about The Bellas
 * John Michael Higgins as John Smith, an a cappella commentator making an insulting documentary about The Bellas
 * John Lithgow as Fergus Hobart, Fat Amy's estranged criminal father
 * Matt Lanter as Chicago Walp, a U.S. soldier guiding the Bellas during the tour, and Chloe's love interest.
 * Guy Burnet as Theo, DJ Khaled's music producer, who takes a liking to Beca
 * DJ Khaled as Himself
 * Troy Ian Hall as Zeke, a U.S. soldier, partners with Chicago
 * Michael Rose as Aubrey's Father
 * Jessica Chaffin as Evan
 * Moises Arias as Pimp-Lo
 * Ruby Rose, Andy Allo, Venzella Joy Williams, and Hannah Fairlight as Calamity, Serenity, Charity, and Veracity, respectively, members of the band Evermoist
 * Whiskey Shivers as Saddle Up, a country-bluegrass-based band competing against the Bellas
 * Trinidad James and D.J. Looney as Young Sparrow and DJ Dragon Nutz, respectively

Production
On April 11, 2015, a month before the release of the second film, it was announced that Rebel Wilson would return for a third film, although she stated that she did not know if Anna Kendrick or other cast members would also reprise their roles. She added that she would be "up for a Fat Amy spin-off." Director, star, and producer of the second film Elizabeth Banks acknowledged the possibility of a third film during promotion of Pitch Perfect 2, saying, "I will say, it would be disingenuous to say that no one’s talking about a Pitch Perfect 3; the possibility of it."

On June 10, 2015, a third film was officially confirmed, and Kay Cannon was set to return to write the script. On June 15, 2015, it was announced that Kendrick and Wilson would both reprise their roles, and on July 28, 2015, Brittany Snow signed on to return. Paul Brooks again produced for Gold Circle Films, along with Max Handelman and Banks for Brownstone Productions. On October 27, 2015, Banks was officially announced to return as director for the film, though she exited in that capacity on June 3, 2016. On September 1, 2016, Trish Sie was confirmed to direct the film. On December 13, 2016, it was reported that Ruby Rose was in talks to join the film, while Anna Camp also signed on to return for the sequel. Cannon wrote the script with later drafts by Mike White and Dana Fox; White would eventually receive screenwriting credits alongside Cannon. On January 5, 2017, a table read occurred, with Ester Dean, Hana Mae Lee, Chrissie Fit, Kelley Jakle, and Shelley Regner also being confirmed to reprise their roles, and singer Andy Allo joining as Charity, a rival in a group opposing the Bellas. While it was revealed by vocal director Deke Sharon that Alexis Knapp is returning, she wasn't spotted during the first month of filming, leading fans to show concerns that she might not be returning at all. However, on February 6, she posted a photo on Instagram, confirming her return, and was on set the following day.

Filming
Principal photography on the film began on January 5, 2017, and took place in Atlanta, Georgia, and Cádiz, Spain and Nice, France and wrapped on April 3, 2017.

Release
Pitch Perfect 3 was initially scheduled for July 21, and August 4, 2017. It had its world premiere in Sydney, Australia, on November 29, 2017, and was released in the United States on December 22, 2017.

Home media
The release will be available for this purchase on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD in March 20th, 2018 along with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.

Box office
Pitch Perfect 3 grossed $104.9 million in the United States and Canada and $79 million in other territories, for a total of $183.9 million, against a production budget of $45 million.

In the United States and Canada, Pitch Perfect 3 was released alongside the openings of Downsizing and Father Figures, as well as the wide expansions of The Shape of Water and Darkest Hour, and was projected to gross $27–35 million from 3,447 theaters in its opening weekend. The film took in $2.1 million from Thursday night previews, about half of the $4.6 million earned by its predecessor. Over the three-day weekend, which included Christmas Eve, it grossed $19.9 million (down nearly 70% from the second film's $69.2 million debut), finishing third at the box office, behind Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. It grossed an additional $6.5 million on Christmas Day, for a four-day total of $26.4 million. It dropped 15% the following weekend, grossing $16.8 million, and a total of $21.7 million over the four-day New Year's frame.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 31% based on 118 reviews and an average rating of 4.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Pitch Perfect 3 strains to recapture the magic that helped the original spawn a franchise, but ends up sending this increasingly unnecessary trilogy out on a low note." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 40 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, the same score earned by its predecessor.

Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised the cast and said, "The new film doesn't add anything revolutionary to the Pitch Perfect formula. It still sounds like we're in middle-period Glee written by someone who finds Ryan Murphy too solemn. But as directed by Trish Sie, the movie is bubbly, it's fast, it's hella synthetic-clever, and it's an avid showcase for the personalities of its stars."

Frank Scheck for The Hollywood Reporter wrote "... what started out as a charmingly offbeat comic premise has inevitably degenerated into the sort of crass commercialism that probably would make the Bellas themselves turn up their noses."

Music
The official soundtrack was released on December 15, 2017 along with the film, Ferdinand.

Possible sequel
When asked about a sequel to Pitch Perfect 3, director Trish Sie said, "Of course that's above my pay grade and I have no idea and am not the one making the decisions but as far as I am concerned, I would see these movies on and on and on until they start sucking. I think whether it's these women in the next stage of life or it's a new group of women going through these things, I think there are endless ways to chart the course of the girls' lives and a woman's life." Rebel Wilson posted a picture on social media alongside Brittany Snow, Anna Camp and Chrissie Fit all holding up 4 fingers. This could be a potential hint towards a fourth Pitch Perfect being in talks. During an interview at The Ellen DeGeneres Show, when asked about the same photo, Wilson hinted that she would be "filming another musical film in the next 12 months".