Movie Trivia Questions: The Ultimate Collection (75 Q&A by Era)

Few categories light up a trivia night quite like film. Whether your crowd grew up quoting Casablanca, arguing about The Godfather, or live-tweeting Marvel premieres, movie trivia questions bridge generations like nothing else. This is the ultimate collection: 75 questions organized by era, mixing Best Picture winners, iconic quotes, behind-the-scenes secrets, and cult-classic deep cuts.

If you host weekly pub trivia, this set gives you four playable rounds. If you're prepping for a movie night with friends, scroll to the era you love most. Looking for more variety after this set? Browse our full hub of movie and TV trivia questions or grab a ready-to-play Lord of the Rings theme pack or Disney/Pixar theme pack for instant theme nights.

How to Use This Movie Trivia Collection

Each section below contains roughly 18-20 questions from a specific era of cinema. The difficulty climbs from warm-up gimmes to genuine expert-level stumpers. For a balanced bar trivia night, pull 4-5 from each era to build a single 20-question round, or run an entire era-themed night using one section. Answers follow each question in bold.

Round 1: Classic Hollywood (1930s-1950s)

The Golden Age. Studio system, Technicolor, screwball comedies, and the birth of the Best Picture Oscar.

1. What was the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture? Wings (1927/28)
2. Who directed Citizen Kane? Orson Welles
3. What is Rosebud in Citizen Kane? Kane's childhood sled
4. Which 1939 epic won 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture? Gone with the Wind
5. Who played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz? Judy Garland
6. What's the famous last line of Gone with the Wind? "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
7. In Casablanca, what is the name of Rick's nightclub? Rick's Cafe Americain
8. Who played Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard? Gloria Swanson
9. What 1952 musical features Gene Kelly dancing in a downpour? Singin' in the Rain
10. Which Hitchcock film features the iconic shower scene? Psycho (1960, edge of era)
11. Who directed Vertigo, Rear Window, and North by Northwest? Alfred Hitchcock
12. What was Marilyn Monroe's character name in Some Like It Hot? Sugar Kane Kowalczyk
13. Who played the Tramp in silent comedy? Charlie Chaplin
14. What 1941 film is widely considered the greatest American film ever made? Citizen Kane
15. In It's a Wonderful Life, what does George Bailey's guardian angel get when a bell rings? His wings
16. Which actor starred in On the Waterfront and won Best Actor in 1954? Marlon Brando
17. Who played Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's? Audrey Hepburn
18. What animal terrorizes the town in King Kong (1933)? A giant ape
19. What's the name of the song Sam plays in Casablanca? As Time Goes By

Round 2: New Hollywood (1960s-1970s)

The auteur revolution. Spielberg, Scorsese, Coppola, and the birth of the modern blockbuster.

20. Who directed The Godfather? Francis Ford Coppola
21. What does Don Corleone offer that someone can't refuse? An offer he can't refuse
22. What movie's tagline was "In space, no one can hear you scream"? Alien (1979)
23. Who played Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver? Robert De Niro
24. What is Travis Bickle's famous mirror line? "You talkin' to me?"
25. Which 1975 film made audiences afraid of the water? Jaws
26. Who composed the iconic two-note Jaws theme? John Williams
27. In Star Wars (1977), who is Luke Skywalker's father? Darth Vader
28. What planet is Luke Skywalker from? Tatooine
29. Who directed 2001: A Space Odyssey? Stanley Kubrick
30. What is the name of the killer computer in 2001? HAL 9000
31. Who played Rocky Balboa in the original Rocky (1976)? Sylvester Stallone
32. Which 1969 western pairs Paul Newman and Robert Redford as outlaws? Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
33. Who directed Apocalypse Now? Francis Ford Coppola
34. What 1971 dystopian Kubrick film features Alex DeLarge? A Clockwork Orange
35. Who played Annie Hall in the 1977 Woody Allen film? Diane Keaton
36. Which 1973 horror film features a possessed girl named Regan? The Exorcist
37. Who plays Vito Corleone as a young man in The Godfather Part II? Robert De Niro
38. Who played Indiana Jones? Harrison Ford
39. What animated Disney film won Best Picture nominations conversation in the 70s? None — animation rarely got nominated then

Round 3: The Blockbuster Era (1980s-1990s)

VHS, multiplexes, and the rise of franchises. Spielberg dominates, Tarantino arrives, Pixar invents a new medium.

40. What 1985 film featured a DeLorean time machine? Back to the Future
41. What speed must the DeLorean reach to time travel? 88 mph
42. Who directed E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial? Steven Spielberg
43. What does E.T. want to do? Phone home
44. What 1994 film features Forrest Gump's box of chocolates line? Forrest Gump
45. Who played Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction? John Travolta
46. What is in the briefcase in Pulp Fiction? It's never revealed
47. Which 1993 dinosaur film grossed over $900 million? Jurassic Park
48. Who directed Schindler's List? Steven Spielberg
49. What 1991 film won Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Adapted Screenplay? The Silence of the Lambs
50. Who plays Hannibal Lecter? Anthony Hopkins
51. What 1995 Pixar film was the first fully computer-animated feature? Toy Story
52. Who voices Woody in Toy Story? Tom Hanks
53. What 1997 film became the highest-grossing of all time at release? Titanic
54. Who directed Titanic? James Cameron
55. What's Jack's last name in Titanic? Dawson
56. Who played John McClane in Die Hard? Bruce Willis
57. What 1980 horror film features the Overlook Hotel? The Shining
58. What's the famous typewriter sentence Jack Torrance writes? "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
59. Who played the Joker in Tim Burton's Batman (1989)? Jack Nicholson

Round 4: Modern Cinema (2000s-2020s)

Superheroes, streaming wars, A24, and global box office. Movies that defined the 21st century.

60. What 2001 film began Peter Jackson's Middle-earth epic? The Fellowship of the Ring
61. Who plays Frodo Baggins? Elijah Wood
62. What is the One Ring's inscription written in? Black Speech of Mordor
63. What 2008 film launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Iron Man
64. Who plays Tony Stark? Robert Downey Jr.
65. What 2010 Christopher Nolan film features dream layers? Inception
66. What spins to indicate dream vs reality in Inception? A spinning top
67. What 2019 film became the first non-English Best Picture winner? Parasite
68. Who directed Parasite? Bong Joon-ho
69. What 2014 Wes Anderson film features Ralph Fiennes as a concierge? The Grand Budapest Hotel
70. What is the name of Marvel's biggest crossover event in 2019? Avengers: Endgame
71. Who plays Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games? Jennifer Lawrence
72. What 2016 musical romance starred Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone? La La Land
73. What 2017 horror film by Jordan Peele won Best Original Screenplay? Get Out
74. What 2022 sci-fi film features Michelle Yeoh and a multiverse laundromat? Everything Everywhere All at Once
75. How many Oscars did Everything Everywhere All at Once win? 7
76. What 2009 James Cameron film was set on Pandora? Avatar

Behind-the-Scenes Trivia That Stumps Almost Everyone

Want to separate the casual movie fans from the cinephiles? Throw in a few of these production secrets:

• The shark in Jaws was nicknamed Bruce after Spielberg's lawyer.
• The original cut of Star Wars was nearly unwatchable until Marcia Lucas re-edited it.
• Kubrick made Shelley Duvall do the baseball bat scene in The Shining 127 times.
• The voice of Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) was originally uncredited.
• Robert De Niro gained 60 pounds for Raging Bull — eating his way across Europe.
• Heath Ledger locked himself in a hotel for a month to develop The Joker.

Iconic Movie Quotes — Name the Film

Bonus round. Read the quote, name the film:

• "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." — The Godfather
• "May the Force be with you." — Star Wars
• "You can't handle the truth!" — A Few Good Men
• "Here's looking at you, kid." — Casablanca
• "I see dead people." — The Sixth Sense
• "Life is like a box of chocolates." — Forrest Gump
• "Why so serious?" — The Dark Knight
• "I'll be back." — The Terminator

FAQ: Movie Trivia Questions

Quick answers to the questions hosts ask us most.

Want More? Try These Movie Trivia Resources

If you loved this collection, our curated movie trivia and answers for film lovers list goes deeper into specific franchises and decades. We also publish themed movie and TV trivia hubs updated regularly.

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