Universal has swapped the “Pacific Rim 2” release date with “Pitch Perfect 3.”
Recently we examined the probability of Pacific Rim 2 happening despite its release date being pushed to “TBD” status. Now it has come to our attention that Universal is taking the original slated release date for “Pacific Rim 2” and giving it to the Barden Bellas for their third installment of the Pitch Perfect franchise.
While “Pitch Perfect 3” was originally slated for July 21, 2017, it has now been pushed to August 4, 2017. Some may be surprised at “Pitch Perfect 3” taking the release date for “Pacific Rim 2” but financially it makes “pitch perfect” sense.
According to Box Office Mojo, “Pacific Rim” had a production budget $190 million and failed domestically with revenue of only $101 million. It did do three times better in foreign markets earning $309 million but the lack of domestic interest and unreported marketing costs could easily be a deterrent for studios to pursue a sequel. “Pitch Perfect 2” on the other hand performed astoundingly well with a production budget of only $29 million and a domestic revenue of $183 million. In addition to that $183 million, the “Pitch Perfect” sequel pulled in another $101 million from foreign markets. While the “Pacific Rim 2” revenue numbers are indeed larger, their profit was only 46% compared to the “Pitch Perfect 2” profit which was more than double at 102%.
Guillermo del Toro has assured fans that “Pacific Rim 2” is still on his “to do list” but despite the niche fans asking for a sequel, the studios have to see a substantially profitable return for the film to be made. As for now, fans of “Pacific Rim” will have to hope for the best while fans of “Pitch Perfect” will continue to have their “aca-awesome” films moving forward.
Should “Pacific Rim 2” be given a chance or does money talk?
This was first reported by Variety