Soundtracks Dominate Billboard 200 as 'Pitch Perfect 2' Debuts on Top

Another week and another soundtrack atop the Billboard 200, as the song collection from Pitch Perfect 2 grabs the no. 1 spot by moving 107,000 equivalent albums sold. The original film's soundtrack peaked at no. 3 on the Billboard 200, although its single "Cups" was a smash on the download charts. The current film already out-earned the first installment, which brought additional attention to the album as well.

This marks the first time since 2010 that three soundtracks have topped the Billboard 200 in the same year: Three different Glee soundtrack entries did so at the peak of the show's success.

Two other soundtracks come in the Top 5 this week, as Fifty Shades of Grey places at no. 3 (48,000 copies sold) and Furious 7 takes no. 5 (41,000 copies sold). This marks the first time since 2007, when High School Musical 2, Hannah Montana and Hairspray pulled it off. Fifty Shades of Grey arguably could have been the fourth film no. 1 this year...if Drake hadn't dropped an album by surprise that same week.

Back to the regularly scheduled chart: Mumford & Sons drops mightily in overall sales with Wilder Mind but still lands at no. 2 thanks to 58,000 equivalent copies moved. David Guetta is the surprise no. 4 with Listen, the album's highest placement since its December release. The album got a boost thanks to Google Play dropping its price to 99 cents last week, resulting in 43,000 total sales and streams.

Incubus has the last debut album in this week's Top 10, as Trust Exercise (Side A) opens at no. 6 with 40,000 units moved.

The Zac Brown Band stick around for at least one more week as former no. 1 Jekyll + Hyde sold another 39,00 copies. Josh Groban, also in his third week, dropped back behind Brown with Stages, which sold 38,000 copies. That drop from no. 2 can be explained by the drop-off from Mother's Day sales, while Brown no doubt enjoys more streaming and single-sales than Groban.

Taylor Swift continues her run within the Top 10, spending her third consecutive week at no. 9 with 1989. She'll have to hope that the new music video for "Bad Blood" will give her a downloads boost and allow her to spend a 30th week in the Top 10. Sam Smith hangs on at no. 10 this week with In The Lonely Hour, which sold 36,000 copies.

Tags

Sam Smith, Taylor Swift, Josh Groban, The zac brown band, Incubus, Furious 7, David Guetta, Fifty Shades of Grey, Mumford & Sons, Pitch Perfect 2