PITCH PERFECT

The musical comedy franchise Pitch Perfect tells the story of an all girls a cappella group, the Barden Bellas. The films, coming out from 2012 to 2017, star Anna Kendrick, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow and Hailee Steinfeld. Although the second film mostly takes place overseas in Europe, there are still a few New York locations found throughout the franchise, especially in Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 3.

Pitch Perfect 3 opens with the Bellas in New York City. The newly graduated Bellas are scrambling for cash and purpose in New York City at the start of the film: Beca (Anna Kendrick) is working an entry-level job and Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) is performing in Times Square as an Amy Winehouse impersonator. Although most of the third and expected final film takes the ladies around Europe for one last aca-venture performing for U.S. troops, we do get a glimpse of what life is like in Manhattan for the group early on thanks to a Bella reunion at a Brooklyn aquarium, which one must assume is actually supposed to be the New York Aquarium. In a montage of flashbacks during the reunion, we get to see Amy donning a tall black wig while singing at her own makeshift theater booth in midtown. 

Beca, Fat Amy and Chloe (Brittany Snow) also share an apartment in the third film. Director Trisha Sie says the decision to place most of the Bellas in NYC post-Barden University was rooted in the idea that the city is a “universal place so many people end up after college.” “We wanted to tap into that aspirational feeling that people leaving college have, where they want something exciting and all the possibilities, but we also wanted the grittiness of real life,” the director says. That grittiness comes to a head when we get a glimpse of their teeny studio apartment. The bathroom is in the kitchen, their beds are separated by standalone clothing racks and Becca is sleeping on a pull-out couch. Typical New York charm! Though we’re not officially told where that apartment is, Sie says the idea for the set was based on the film’s production designer Toby Corbett’s first digs in Alphabet City, located near the East Village. 

Another New York City spot, linked to Pitch Perfect and actually seen on the When Harry Met Seinfeld Tour, is the famous Lincoln Center where the Bellas have their final performance at the end of the first movie. This iconic theater is where we fell in love with the Bellas in the first place, as they sing their medley of hits in this filming location.

* In an effort to stay current, we are constantly updating our tours with new locations and cannot guarantee the presence of locations mentioned on our site. If you have a particular interest in locations from a specific TV show or movie, please let your tour guide know and we will do our best to accommodate your request.