The Best Third Films In A Movie Series
Threequel: the third (and often final) movie in a series. A third film that follows the original and the sequel. With the newly released Iron Man 3 tearing up the foreign and domestic box office, it's a good time to look at other movie threequels and see how they stack up against each other. Many of the best movies of all time are part of a series of movies that make up the best movie franchises ever. While many of these are the third installment in a movie trilogy, more still are part of ongoing series or much longer movie series like Harry Potter and Star Wars.
Iron Man isn't the only franchise to produce a critically lauded and financially successful third movie, but it is faring particularly well compared to some of the other entries in the third film of the movie franchise. For every Return of the Jedi there's a Dark Knight Rises, Superman III, Godfather 3, and Spiderman 3. Perish the thought.
What are the best third films ever? What movie series have the best film threequels? This greatest third one movie in a series list is here to let movie fans decide which third entries in a movie franchise are the best and the worst movies compared to each other. If your favorite threequel isn't on the list of the best threequels ever, it might not even make the list of the best trilogies of all time. But with that said, your third movie in a famous film franchise can't be much worse than Red Dragon, right?
- Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: Taika Waititi
Box Office gross: $854 million
Imprisoned on the other side of the universe, the mighty Thor finds himself in a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against the Hulk, his former ally and fellow Avenger. Thor's quest for ...more - Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott
- Released: 1989
- Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Box Office gross: $474.3 million
An art collector appeals to Jones to embark on a search for the Holy Grail. He learns that another archaeologist has disappeared while searching for the precious goblet, and the missing man is his ...more - Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler
- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Peter Jackson
Box office gross: $1.142 billion
The culmination of nearly 10 years' work and conclusion to Peter Jackson's epic trilogy based on the timeless J.R.R. Tolkien classic, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" presents the ...more - Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
- Released: 1983
- Directed by: Richard Marquand
Box Office gross: $475.1 million
Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) battles horrible Jabba the Hut and cruel Darth Vader to save his comrades in the Rebel Alliance and triumph over the Galactic Empire. Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and ...more - Robert Downey, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
- Released: 2018
- Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Box Office gross: $2.048 billion
Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers unite to battle their most powerful enemy yet -- the evil Thanos. On a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the ...more - Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef
- Released: 1967
- Directed by: Sergio Leone
Box Office gross: $25.1 million
In the Southwest during the Civil War, a mysterious stranger, Joe (Clint Eastwood), and a Mexican outlaw, Tuco (Eli Wallach), form an uneasy partnership -- Joe turns in the bandit for the reward ...more - Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Scarlett Johansson
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Box Office gross: $1.153 billion
Political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability when the actions of the Avengers lead to collateral damage. The new status quo deeply divides members of the team. Captain America ...more - Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Lee Unkrich
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Box Office gross: $1.067 billion
With their beloved Andy preparing to leave for college, Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), and the rest of the toys find themselves headed for the attic but ...more - Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón
Box Office gross: $796.7 million
Harry Potter's (Daniel Radcliffe) third year at Hogwarts starts off badly when he learns deranged killer Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped from Azkaban prison and is bent on murdering the ...more - Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem
- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Sam Mendes
Box Office gross: $1.109 billion
When James Bond's (Daniel Craig) latest assignment goes terribly wrong, it leads to a calamitous turn of events: Undercover agents around the world are exposed, and MI6 is attacked, forcing M (Judi ...more - Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid
- Released: 1989
- Directed by: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Box Office gross: $73.3 million
As the holidays approach, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants to have a perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife, Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), and children, as he tries to make sure everything is ...more - Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: James Mangold
Box Office gross: $619 million
In the near future, a weary Logan (Hugh Jackman) cares for an ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart) at a remote outpost on the Mexican border. His plan to hide from the outside world gets upended when ...more - Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy
- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Box Office gross: $1.081 billion
It has been eight years since Batman (Christian Bale), in collusion with Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman), vanished into the night. Assuming responsibility for the death of Harvey Dent, Batman ...more - Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: Matt Reeves
Box Office gross: $490.7 million
Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless colonel (Woody Harrelson). After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with ...more - Sean Connery, Gert Fröbe, Honor Blackman
- Released: 1964
- Directed by: Guy Hamilton
Box Office gross: $125 million
Special agent 007 (Sean Connery) comes face to face with one of the most notorious villains of all time, and now he must outwit and outgun the powerful tycoon to prevent him from cashing in on a ...more - Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: John McTiernan
Box Office gross: $366.1 million
Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) is now divorced, alcoholic and jobless after getting fired for his reckless behavior and bad attitude. He is called back into action, however, when a cryptic ...more - Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Box Office gross: $444.1 million
Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) continues his international quest to uncover his true identity. From Russia to Europe to northern Africa to the United States, he must stay one step ahead of those who would ...more - Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen
- Released: 2005
- Directed by: George Lucas
Box Office gross: $868.4 million
It has been three years since the Clone Wars began. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) rescue Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) from ...more - Sylvester Stallone, Mr. T, Talia Shire
- Released: 1982
- Directed by: Sylvester Stallone
Box office gross: $270 million
Having become the world heavyweight champion, former working-class boxer Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is rich and famous beyond his wildest dreams, which has made him lazy and overconfident. In ...more - Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert
- Released: 1992
- Directed by: Sam Raimi
Box Office gross: $21.5 million
3rd Evil Dead movie. Ash (Bruce Campbell) finds himself trapped in medieval times. He must quest for the Necronomicon, a book of evil which can return him to his time. Unfortunately, he releases the ...more - Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Ian McShane
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Chad Stahelski
Box Office gross: $326.7 million
After gunning down a member of the High Table -- the shadowy international assassin's guild -- legendary hit man John Wick finds himself stripped of the organization's protective services. Now stuck ...more - Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Justin Lin
Box Office gross: $343.5 million
A surprise attack in outer space forces the Enterprise to crash-land on a mysterious world. The assault came from Krall (Idris Elba), a lizard-like dictator who derives his energy by sucking the life ...more - Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen
- Released: 1990
- Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Box office gross: $246.1 million
In this final chapter, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) obtains a 70-year-old message from the time-traveling Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd), in which he informs Marty that he has retired to a ...more - Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames
- Released: 2006
- Directed by: J.J. Abrams
Box Office gross: $398.5 million
Retired from active duty, and training recruits for the Impossible Mission Force, agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) faces the toughest foe of his career: Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an ...more - Harrison Ford, Willem Dafoe, Anne Archer
- Released: 1994
- Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Box Office gross: $215.9 million
Agent Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) becomes acting deputy director of the CIA when Admiral Greer (James Earl Jones) is diagnosed with cancer. When an American businessman, and friend of the president, is ...more