National lampoons christmas vacation was a good 3rd movie

GOULLIES 3 is well respected as a sequel
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The Enforcer, Rocky III, and Army of Darkness are also prime examples of excellent third entries of a franchise. Of course, it's all relative anyway.

The Bourne Ultimatum the third movie in the Bourne franchise was the best one!

I think the Harry Potter films really started to pick up with the third entry. There are plenty of decent third films out there. Return of the Jedi was probably the weakest of the OT, but still excellent. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is possibly the best third entry of all time. That movie is absolutely top notch. Alien 3 had its moments, though it doesn't touch Alien or Aliens. Die Hard with a Vengeance kicked quite a bit of arse. Lethal Weapon 3, probably my least favorite of the series, but still a solid entry (2 was awesome!). Beverly Hills Cop 3 is probably my favorite of the three to watch.

I think FRIDAY THE 13TH 3 and NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS were successful, and often considered among the best of each franchise.
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We can't count the ones who were already planned as trilogies from the start like LOTR, Batman.. but sequels do suck most of the times right down to being garbage.

Mission Impossible 3 was probably the best of the series at that point.
Ditto with LOTR: Return of the King and Bourne Ultimatum.

GOLDFINGER was the third James Bond film and is probably the most popular with Sean Connery. The idea that there's no such thing as a quality third film in a series is a myth.

Lethal Weapon 3 and Die Hard 3 were both pretty good movies. Both of which had terrible endings too.
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Godfather 3 and Alien 3 were terrible movies.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

There are some exceptions, though - Back to the Future 3, Godfather 3 (both of which were released in the same year - 1990), Alien 3 (yes, it's not THAT bad) and arguably this.

"Toy Story 3" was still great. But I agree that most are terrible by #3.
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