BREAKING: Universal Pictures will move up from an October 5 release date on Pitch Perfect and try to build word of mouth by platforming the picture in select theaters across North America on Friday, September 28. Studio and Gold Circle Films did this after strong feedback from early screenings that have already been held and which elicited high amounts of social media traffic — 90% of it positive according to monitoring company Fizziology. While major studios usually move like battleships (no pun intended) and don’t veer from wide-release plans, the feeling was that there was buzz to be built here.

I’m assured the studio isn’t dipping its toe in the water with an option to pull back on the original screen commitment if audiences yawn during the platform. Anna Kendrick stars as a young Barden University student who bonds with a group of girls with the same passion: singing. When she takes this a cappella singing group out of their world of traditional arrangements and perfect harmonies into all-new mash-ups, they fight to climb their way to the top of the cutthroat world of college music competitions. This could wind up either the coolest thing they’ll ever do or the most insane, and it will probably be a little of both. The film’s directed by Jason Moore, best known for Broadway’s Avenue Q.

“You have to be willing to break the rules for a film that you deeply love, and supporting Pitch Perfect in this unorthodox way is a result of our passion for the movie and confidence in its reception,” Universal distribution president Nikki Rocco said. “After every screening, we’ve seen levels of reaction similar to how audiences responded to American Pie and Bring It On, other comedies for a young audience that grew into great success stories for Universal.”

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