50 film and movie quiz questions for your next quiz night

Film rounds are reliable crowd-pleasers. Everyone watches movies. Even the team that claims they "don't really follow pop culture" will suddenly have opinions when a Star Wars question comes up.

The challenge is asking questions that feel fair. "Name the third assistant director of Citizen Kane" is a terrible question. "Who directed Jaws?" is solid. The best film questions make people think without feeling impossible.

Here are 40 questions that work, organised by difficulty and covering everything from Oscar winners to popcorn blockbusters.

Classic and Easy Questions

These are for warming up. Most teams should get 7 or 8 out of 10.

Q1: What 1997 film features a ship that sinks after hitting an iceberg?

Ans: Titanic

Q2: In The Lion King, what is the name of Simba's father?

Ans: Mufasa

Q3: Who played Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean films?

Ans: Johnny Depp

Q4: In which film does a boy wake up to find his family has left for Paris without him?

Ans: Home Alone

Q5: What colour pill does Neo take in The Matrix?

Ans: Red

Q6: Which animated film features a clownfish looking for his son Nemo?

Ans: Finding Nemo

Q7: Who plays Wolverine in the X-Men films?

Ans: Hugh Jackman

Q8: In which film does Tom Hanks play a man stranded on a desert island?

Ans: Cast Away

Q9: What is the highest-grossing film of all time?

Ans: Avatar (2009)

Q10: Who directed Jaws?

Ans: Steven Spielberg

Oscars and Award Winners

For the film buffs who follow awards season.

Q11: Which film won Best Picture at the 2020 Academy Awards, making history as the first non-English language film to win?

Ans: Parasite

Q12: Who is the most nominated actor in Oscar history?

Ans: Meryl Streep (21 nominations)

Q13: What 1994 film won Best Picture, beating The Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction?

Ans: Forrest Gump

Q14: Which actress has won the most Oscars for acting?

Ans: Katharine Hepburn (4 wins)

Q15: Which film became the first sequel to win Best Picture?

Ans: The Godfather Part II

Q16: What 2023 film starring Cillian Murphy won Best Picture?

Ans: Oppenheimer

Q17: Which animated film was the first to be nominated for Best Picture?

Ans: Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Famous Quotes

Read the quote, teams name the film.

Q18: "Here's looking at you, kid."

Ans: Casablanca

Q19: "I'll be back."

Ans: The Terminator

Q20: "May the Force be with you."

Ans: Star Wars

Q21: "You're gonna need a bigger boat."

Ans: Jaws

Q22: "Life is like a box of chocolates."

Ans: Forrest Gump

Q23: "I see dead people."

Ans: The Sixth Sense

Q24: "You talkin' to me?"

Ans: Taxi Driver

Q25: "To infinity and beyond!"

Ans: Toy Story

Q26: "I'm the king of the world!"

Ans: Titanic

Actors and Directors

Testing knowledge of who makes the films.

Q27: Who directed Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill?

Ans: Quentin Tarantino

Q28: Who played the Joker in The Dark Knight?

Ans: Heath Ledger

Q29: Which director is known for E.T., Jurassic Park, and Schindler's List?

Ans: Steven Spielberg

Q30: Who plays Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road?

Ans: Charlize Theron

Q31: Who directed the Lord of the Rings trilogy?

Ans: Peter Jackson

Q32: Who plays Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Ans: Scarlett Johansson

Trickier Questions

These will separate the real film fans from the casual viewers.

Q33: What year was the first talkie (film with synchronised dialogue) released?

Ans: 1927 (The Jazz Singer)

Q34: Which studio's logo features a roaring lion?

Ans: MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

Q35: In Inception, what object does Cobb use as his totem?

Ans: A spinning top

Q36: Which film holds the record for most Oscar nominations without a win?

Ans: The Color Purple (11 nominations)

Q37: What was the first animated film produced by Pixar?

Ans: Toy Story (1995)

Q38: In The Shawshank Redemption, what does Andy Dufresne crawl through to escape prison?

Ans: A sewage pipe (500 yards of it)

Q39: Which Hitchcock film features a famous shower scene?

Ans: Psycho

Q40: What is the real name of the superhero known as Iron Man?

Ans: Tony Stark

Tips for Film Rounds

Show your working. When revealing answers, add a bit of context. "The answer is Citizen Kane, which is often called the greatest film ever made" gives teams who didn't know something to remember.

Accept reasonable alternatives. If someone writes "Lord of the Rings" instead of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," give them the point unless the distinction matters.

Consider a visual round. Film stills, paused at recognisable moments, work brilliantly.

Mix franchises with standalones. Marvel and Star Wars fans will dominate if you focus too heavily on their territory.