60 movie trivia questions by era and genre (with answers)
Here are 60 movie trivia questions with answers, sorted by era and genre so you can balance your rounds: classic Hollywood, blockbusters and action, sci-fi and fantasy, animation and family, drama and award winners, and comedy. Each question lists its answer right after it, ready to read aloud, print, or load into an auto-scoring quiz. Mix the categories to your crowd, and the full list is below.
Movie trivia rewards different audiences depending on how you balance the eras and genres, so the set below is sorted across six categories spanning classic Hollywood to modern blockbusters. Each question lists its answer, ready to read aloud or load into a quiz. Mix categories so the film buff and the casual viewer both have a fighting chance, and lean on the genres your crowd actually watches.
Classic Hollywood
- What 1939 film features Dorothy and a yellow brick road? — A: The Wizard of Oz
- In 'Casablanca,' what cafe does Rick run? — A: Rick's Cafe Americain
- What 1941 film is widely cited as the greatest ever, about a media tycoon? — A: Citizen Kane
- Who played the lead in the original 1933 'King Kong' poster era — what creature climbs the Empire State Building? — A: King Kong (a giant gorilla)
- What 1960 Hitchcock film features a famous shower scene? — A: Psycho
- What musical features the song 'Singin' in the Rain'? — A: Singin' in the Rain
- In 'Gone with the Wind,' what is the heroine's first name? — A: Scarlett (O'Hara)
- What 1942 film ends with the line 'the beginning of a beautiful friendship'? — A: Casablanca
- Who directed 'Vertigo' and 'Rear Window'? — A: Alfred Hitchcock
- What 1954 film features Marlon Brando saying 'I coulda been a contender'? — A: On the Waterfront
Blockbusters & action
- What 1975 film made audiences afraid to go in the water? — A: Jaws
- In 'Die Hard,' what building is taken over by terrorists? — A: Nakatomi Plaza
- What spy has been played by actors including Sean Connery and Daniel Craig? — A: James Bond
- What 1993 film features a dinosaur theme park? — A: Jurassic Park
- In 'The Terminator,' what does the T-800 famously say he'll do? — A: 'I'll be back'
- What franchise features Dominic Toretto and street racing? — A: Fast and Furious
- What 1986 film features fighter pilots and the call sign 'Maverick'? — A: Top Gun
- What 1981 film introduced the archaeologist Indiana Jones? — A: Raiders of the Lost Ark
- What 2008 film began the Marvel Cinematic Universe? — A: Iron Man
- In 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' what does the convoy chase across? — A: The desert (wasteland)
Sci-fi & fantasy
- What 1977 film opens with 'A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away'? — A: Star Wars (A New Hope)
- In 'The Matrix,' which pill does Neo take? — A: The red pill
- What trilogy follows a hobbit named Frodo? — A: The Lord of the Rings
- In 'E.T.,' what does E.T. want to do? — A: Phone home
- What 1982 film features replicants and a 'blade runner'? — A: Blade Runner
- What planet is Pandora featured in? — A: Avatar
- In 'Back to the Future,' what car becomes a time machine? — A: A DeLorean
- What 2010 film involves dreams within dreams? — A: Inception
- What 'Harry Potter' school teaches witchcraft and wizardry? — A: Hogwarts
- In '2001: A Space Odyssey,' what is the rogue computer named? — A: HAL 9000
Match the eras to your audience. A team in their twenties will breeze through the animation and modern blockbuster rounds and stall on classic Hollywood; an older crowd flips it. If you don't know the room, weight toward the universally seen hits — most people have seen Jaws and The Lion King even if they've never touched Citizen Kane.
Animation & family
- What was the first feature-length Disney animated film? — A: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- In 'The Lion King,' what is the name of Simba's father? — A: Mufasa
- What Pixar film features toys that come to life? — A: Toy Story
- In 'Frozen,' what is the name of Elsa's sister? — A: Anna
- What ogre lives in a swamp in a DreamWorks film? — A: Shrek
- In 'Finding Nemo,' what kind of fish is Nemo? — A: A clownfish
- What Pixar film takes place mostly inside a girl's mind? — A: Inside Out
- In 'Up,' what lifts the house into the sky? — A: Balloons
- What Studio Ghibli film features a girl named Chihiro in a spirit world? — A: Spirited Away
- In 'The Incredibles,' what is the family's surname? — A: Parr
Drama & award winners
- What 1994 film features the line 'Life is like a box of chocolates'? — A: Forrest Gump
- What 1972 mafia film opens with a wedding? — A: The Godfather
- What 1994 prison film centers on Andy Dufresne? — A: The Shawshank Redemption
- What 1997 film featured a ship that sank and Jack and Rose? — A: Titanic
- What 2019 South Korean film won Best Picture? — A: Parasite
- What 1993 film depicted a businessman saving Jews in WWII? — A: Schindler's List
- In 'The Silence of the Lambs,' what is Hannibal Lecter's profession? — A: Psychiatrist
- What 2010 film follows a stuttering British king? — A: The King's Speech
- What 1976 boxing film features a Philadelphia underdog? — A: Rocky
- What 2016 musical film stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling? — A: La La Land
Comedy
- What 1993 film traps Bill Murray in a repeating day? — A: Groundhog Day
- In 'Anchorman,' what is Ron Burgundy's profession? — A: News anchor
- What 1980 film parodies disaster movies with 'Don't call me Shirley'? — A: Airplane!
- What 1984 comedy features ghost-catching scientists in New York? — A: Ghostbusters
- In 'Home Alone,' what city are the McCallisters trying to fly to? — A: Paris
- What 2004 film features the line 'You can't sit with us'? — A: Mean Girls
- What 1999 film features an office worker who stops caring about his job? — A: Office Space
- In 'The Hangover,' what city do the friends wake up in? — A: Las Vegas
- What 1993 comedy stars Robin Williams as a nanny in disguise? — A: Mrs. Doubtfire
- What 2011 comedy features a disastrous bridal party? — A: Bridesmaids
Turn these into an auto-scored quiz
For movie night with a big group, a self-scoring quiz beats passing answer sheets around. A free quiz maker lets you paste each question, set the correct answer and points, and have it grade submissions the instant they come in, with a leaderboard everyone can see. Formkii's quiz maker supports multiple-choice and multi-answer questions, optional timers for rapid-fire rounds, shuffled question order, and per-question analytics — so you can turn the categories above into a reusable, auto-graded movie trivia game.
Frequently asked questions
How do you pick movie trivia questions for a mixed group?
Balance the eras and genres so no single decade dominates, and weight toward widely seen hits rather than cult favorites. Films like Jaws, The Lion King, and Titanic are fair game for almost any audience, while niche classics or recent indies tend to split the room and frustrate casual viewers.
How many movie trivia questions make a good round?
Aim for 10 to 12 questions per themed round and three to six rounds for a full movie-night quiz. That gives enough variety to cover several genres while keeping each round short enough to stay lively, especially if you're scoring between rounds.
What are the best categories for movie trivia?
Classic Hollywood, blockbusters, sci-fi and fantasy, animation, drama or award winners, and comedy cover the widest range of tastes. Splitting questions this way lets you tune difficulty to your audience — animation and modern hits skew easier for younger crowds, classics for older ones.
How do you score a movie trivia quiz for a big group?
Use an online quiz tool that grades automatically the moment players submit, instead of collecting and marking paper answers. Automatic scoring produces an instant leaderboard, removes disputes over close calls, and lets you run the quiz for a remote or large group without a scorekeeper.
Can I reuse movie trivia questions for different events?
Yes. Build them in a quiz tool that shuffles question order so repeat players can't rely on memory, and swap a few questions between sessions. Keeping a category-based bank makes it easy to assemble a fresh quiz quickly for each event.