Here Are The 11 Best Trilogy Movies (The Third Film In A Franchise) Of All-Time

While they say that “good things come in threes,” that certainly hasn’t always been the case for Hollywood trilogies. Over the years, there have been a litany of disappointing trilogy cappers, some more infamous than others.

The Godfather Part III, The Matrix Revolutions, Superman III, Batman Forever, Alien³, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Jurassic Park III, and The Hangover Part III are just a handful of the oft-mocked third movies in a franchise.

But for all the instances of failure, there are the rare successful outings that not only succeed as individual films but also expertly wrap up or continue the ongoing narrative within their franchises.

Here are 11 of the best trilogy movies, a.k.a. the third film in a franchise, of all time

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King — Dir. Peter Jackson, 2003

Best Picture. Best Director. Best Adapted Screenplay. Best Editing. Over $1 billion at the box office. These are just some of the accolades under the belt of Peter Jackson’s 2003 epic The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which has achieved a reputation beyond the confines of trilogies and is also widely considered to be one of the greatest movies ever made, in general.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly — Dir. Sergio Leone, 1967

The third entry in Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy — following A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More — The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is not only considered to be the best film of the three but it stands as one of the most influential films ever made. Leone defined the visual style of the modern Western with his extreme close-ups, the operatic standoffs, and an Ennio Morricone score that is among the most recognizable pieces of movie music ever made.

Goldfinger — Dir. Guy Hamilton, 1964

Goldfinger is widely considered the film where James Bond truly came into focus as a franchise — introducing the template that virtually every subsequent entry would follow: the gadgets, the extended pre-credits sequence, the exotic locales, and the tongue-in-cheek humor that became the series’ signature. It was also the first Bond film to win an Academy Award, and its Corgi Toys Aston Martin DB5 tie-in became the best-selling toy of 1964, laying the groundwork for the Hollywood merchandising machine that would follow.

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi — Dir. Richard Marquand, 1983

With its predecessor, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, being considered the gold standard of sequels and an all-time iconic film, Return of the Jedi always had the impossible task of living up to expectations. Still, it’s widely regarded by fans and landed the plane of the trilogy in satisfying fashion despite its obvious flaws — Boba Fett’s (since retconned) death, the existence of Ewoks being among them.

Return of the Jedi basically had a man on second in the bottom of the 9th and needed just a base hit to win the game. And while they may not have hit a home run, they put the ball in play to win the game.

The Dark Knight Rises — Dir. Christopher Nolan, 2012

The Dark Knight Rises may be largely considered to be the worst movie in its own trilogy. But Christopher Nolan has proven that even his weaker works would be most directors’ magnum opus, and just because Rises may be less revered than Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a relatively excellent third movie in a franchise within the wider context of cinema.

John Wick 3: Parabellum — Dir. Chad Stahelski, 2019

The thing with the John Wick franchise is that you can convince yourself that any of the four is the best of the bunch while you’re watching it because they all have such a high floor of excellence. And John Wick 3 is the one with the dogs and Halle Berry and the motorcycles!

Avengers: Infinity War — Dir. Joe and Anthony Russo, 2018

Given its status as the culmination of 10 years of Marvel Studios’ franchise planning, it’s oft overlooked that it’s technically the third film in the Avengers series and thus qualifies for this list.

Widely cited by fans as the MCU’s crowning achievement, Avengers: Infinity War was one of the cultural anchors of the 2010s and captured the attention of the cinema world in a way that comic book movies may never do again.

 

Logan — Dir. James Mangold, 2017

Similar to Avengers: Infinity War, the larger context of the franchise it existed in — this time it’s Fox’s X-Men universe as opposed to the MCU — overshadows the fact that it’s the third in a specific series: X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009, famously bad), The Wolverine (2013, a major improvement but flawed third act), and then Logan (genre masterpiece).

Logan stands as one of the comic book genre’s greatest ever achievements, alongside pantheon films such as Superman (1978), Batman (1989), Spider-Man 2 (2004), The Dark Knight (2008), and so on. Not only was it beloved by fans but it also broke new ground for the genre as it became the first live-action superhero comic book movie nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban — Dir. Alfonso Cuarón, 2004

If you look through the history of who directed the Harry Potter movies, you’ll see that they’re largely competent studio hands — in sports terms, plug-and-play guys.

Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Potter movies, was certainly a well-known filmmaker after directing Home Alone 1 & 2 and Mrs. Doubtfire. The other filmmakers who worked on the franchise include Mike Newell on Goblet of Fire and David Yates on the final four. And then there’s the outlier, Alfonso Cuaron, who answered the question of what would happen if you let an actual auteur make a Harry Potter movie.

And the result is ultimately the “real ball knower” answer for the best movie in the franchise and is oft cited as the favorite of many Harry Potter fans.

Toy Story 3 — Dir. Lee Unkrich, 2010

We’ve already covered this one extensively in the context of the existential crisis it triggers, so we’ll keep this brief: Toy Story 3 is not only the best film in its own franchise but one of the best animated films ever made. It also won Best Animated Feature and was nominated for Best Picture — one of only three animated films ever to receive that honor.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade — Dir. Steven Spielberg, 1989

After the disappointment of the surprisingly dark Temple of Doom, the introduction of Henry Jones Sr. in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade produced one of the great on-screen pairings of the 1980s in Sean Connery and Harrison Ford.