Movie Trivia Questions and Answers for Kids and Film Buffs

This list has 47 movie trivia questions with the answer printed below every one, split into rounds for the people you’ll actually have in the room. There’s an animated round that kids around 6 and up can answer, a holiday round for the stretch from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, a classics round, a hard round for the film buff, and a true-or-false round of famous lines that were never said. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia.

Before the first question, decide who reads, whether you play in teams, and how you’ll break a tie. Those three choices take a minute and stop most of the arguments that end a trivia night early. The player counts, round lengths and times below are our suggestions, so stretch or trim them for your group.

How to run a movie trivia night at home

Movie trivia works with one reader and anywhere from two players to a full living room. The reader holds the list and doesn’t play, because every answer sits directly under its question. With more than six players, split into teams of two to four, and put a kid and an adult on each team so the kid takes the cartoon questions and the adult takes the old films.

Four rounds make a good evening before or after the movie, which comes to roughly 45 minutes with marking. Teams write their answers on paper instead of shouting them, give one point per right answer, and swap sheets with the next team to mark. Phones go face down before the first question, since anyone can look up a cast list in ten seconds.

The host guide in our movie night party games kit runs on the same basic rules, one reader and everyone else writing. It adds two of its own: swap the reader between games, and let the room vote when two people disagree about an answer. Its scoreboard is one sheet for the whole evening.

Two things trip up movie trivia more than hard questions do. Remakes share titles, so say the year out loud (“Miracle on 34th Street, the 1947 one”). Release years shift too: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered in Los Angeles on December 21, 1937, but went into general release in the United States on February 4, 1938. When a question asks for a year, accept the premiere or the US release.

If the movie itself is still undecided, our family movie night ideas guide covers picking a film by vote and the games that run while it plays.

Animated movie trivia questions for kids

These twelve suit kids around 6 and up who have seen at least a few of the films. Every answer is a name, an animal or an object, so no one has to remember a year.

1. In Toy Story (1995), what’s the name of the boy who owns Woody and Buzz? Answer: Andy. His full name in the film is Andy Davis.
2. In Finding Nemo, what kind of fish is Dory? Answer: a blue tang. Marlin, Nemo’s dad, is a clownfish.
3. What’s the name of the snowman in Frozen (2013)? Answer: Olaf, a living snowman made by Elsa’s magic.
4. In The Lion King (1994), which two friends take Simba in after he runs away? Answer: Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and a warthog.
5. In Moana (2016), which demigod does Moana sail off to find? Answer: Maui, the shape-shifting demigod of the wind and sea.
6. In Zootopia, what kind of animal is the police officer Judy Hopps? Answer: a rabbit. She becomes the city’s first rabbit police officer.
7. In Up (2009), what’s the name of the young Wilderness Explorer who ends up flying away with Carl? Answer: Russell.
8. In Coco (2017), which instrument does Miguel teach himself to play, even though his family bans music? Answer: the guitar.
9. In Ratatouille, what’s the name of the rat who wants to be a chef? Answer: Remy.
10. In Shrek (2001), what kind of creature falls in love with Donkey? Answer: a dragon. The film calls her Dragon, and she guards Princess Fiona’s castle.
11. In Inside Out (2015), name the five emotions inside Riley’s head. Answer: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger. Give half a point for three or four.
12. In WALL-E, what job is the little robot left on Earth to do? Answer: clean up the garbage. Humans left the planet hundreds of years before the story starts.

Number 4 works for both versions of The Lion King, since Timon and Pumbaa are in the 2019 remake too, so you don’t need to say which one. Number 11 is the hardest in the round for little kids, because most remember Joy and Sadness and forget the rest. Read it last, and let the whole team call out names.

Holiday movie trivia from Thanksgiving to New Year’s

These twelve cover the movies families tend to watch between late November and New Year’s Day, with one Thanksgiving film and the rest from Christmas. They suit mixed ages, though the questions about actors are easier for the adults.

1. In Home Alone (1990), what are the names of the two burglars Kevin fights off? Answer: Harry and Marv, who call themselves the Wet Bandits.
2. In Home Alone 2, Kevin boards the wrong plane. Which city does he end up in? Answer: New York City. His family was flying to Miami, Florida.
3. Who plays Buddy, the human raised by Santa’s elves, in Elf (2003)? Answer: Will Ferrell.
4. In It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), what’s the name of the angel sent to help George Bailey? Answer: Clarence Odbody, an angel second class.
5. In A Christmas Story (1983), what does Ralphie want for Christmas? Answer: a Red Ryder BB gun. In the film he calls it a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle, so give a bonus point for the full name.
6. In Miracle on 34th Street (1947), which department store hires Kris Kringle to play Santa? Answer: Macy’s, at its New York store on 34th Street.
7. Who plays Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)? Answer: Chevy Chase.
8. Who plays the Grinch in the 2000 live-action How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Answer: Jim Carrey.
9. Which actor plays several roles in The Polar Express (2004), including the conductor? Answer: Tom Hanks.
10. In The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), who is the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town? Answer: Jack Skellington.
11. In Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), Neal Page is trying to get home for which holiday, and to which city? Answer: Thanksgiving, in Chicago. Give one point for each half.
12. Who plays Ebenezer Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)? Answer: Michael Caine.

Numbers 6 and 8 are the two where the year matters. Miracle on 34th Street was remade in 1994, and the Grinch has an animated TV special from 1966 as well as the 2000 film, so read the year with the question. Number 2 is a sequel trap of its own, because the second film’s full title, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, gives the answer away. Read it as plain “Home Alone 2.”

For a table that would rather talk history than movies, our Thanksgiving trivia list runs to 52 questions on the Plymouth feast of 1621, the holiday’s date and football.

Classic movie trivia: 1942 to 1985

These nine run from Casablanca in 1942 to the 1980s films that many parents grew up with. They suit teens and adults, and a grandparent at the table usually knows more of them than anyone expects.

1. In Casablanca (1942), which song does Ilsa ask Sam to play? Answer: “As Time Goes By.”
2. In Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959), which national monument do the hero and heroine climb across in the final chase? Answer: Mount Rushmore.
3. In Psycho (1960), what’s the name of the motel where Marion Crane stops for the night? Answer: the Bates Motel.
4. Who stars as Don Lockwood and dances in the rain in Singin’ in the Rain (1952)? Answer: Gene Kelly, who also co-directed the film with Stanley Donen.
5. In The Sound of Music (1965), what’s the family name of the seven children Maria looks after? Answer: von Trapp.
6. In Jaws (1975), who says “You’re gonna need a bigger boat”? Answer: Police Chief Martin Brody, played by Roy Scheider.
7. Who plays Princess Leia in the first Star Wars film (1977)? Answer: Carrie Fisher.
8. In E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which candy does Elliott use to lure E.T. back to the house? Answer: Reese’s Pieces.
9. In Back to the Future (1985), how fast does the DeLorean have to go to travel in time? Answer: 88 miles per hour (142 kilometers per hour).

Save number 1 for a team that thinks it knows Casablanca, because the misquote round below has a second question about the same scene. Number 9 is a good one for kids, too, since plenty of them have seen Back to the Future with a parent.

Hard movie trivia questions for film buffs

These seven are for the person at the party who reads the credits to the end. Give them two points each if you’re mixing them into an easier round, so the expert has a reason to wait for them.

1. Which film won the very first Best Picture award? Answer: Wings (1927). At the first ceremony in 1929, the award was called Outstanding Picture.
2. La La Land (2016) tied the record for the most Oscar nominations. How many did it get, and which two films share the record? Answer: 14, tied with All About Eve (1950) and Titanic (1997).
3. Which actor holds the record for the most acting Oscars? Answer: Katharine Hepburn, with four Academy Awards for Best Actress.
4. What’s the last word Charles Foster Kane says in Citizen Kane (1941)? Answer: “Rosebud.” Only the audience learns at the end that it was the name on his childhood sled.
5. What’s the name of the hotel in The Shining (1980)? Answer: the Overlook Hotel, in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
6. Who was the first African American to win an Oscar, and for which film? Answer: Hattie McDaniel, Best Supporting Actress for playing Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939).
7. The first Harry Potter film has a different title in the United States. What are the two titles? Answer: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, released as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the US.

Number 7 is the one to watch at a mixed table. Most American kids know only the Sorcerer’s Stone title, and a cousin who grew up with the British books will swear it’s the Philosopher’s Stone. They’re both right, so give the point either way and award a bonus for anyone who names both.

Printable movie trivia rounds for a longer night

Forty-seven questions cover one evening. For a second movie night, or a room that wants written rounds instead of a list read aloud, the trivia collection in the same movie night kit adds ten more games. Between them, those ten games hold 265 questions, and each one takes 15 to 30 minutes.

The rounds come in different formats, which helps when the same group plays twice. Ultimate Movie Trivia is 30 multiple-choice questions for 2 to 10 players. Animated Movie Trivia is 25 written questions with no pictures, so you can read it aloud or hand out sheets for a quiet round. The last game, the Ultimate Movie Knowledge Challenge, sorts its 30 questions into easy, medium and hard.

Settle one scoring rule before you print. The host guide says two points for anything marked hard, but the Knowledge Challenge gives one point for easy, two for medium and three for hard. Pick one rule for the whole night and tell the room before the first round.

Movie misquotes: a true-or-false round

Some movie lines are quoted so often that the wrong version sounds right. Play these three as true or false and read the answer straight after each one, since that’s where the argument starts.

1. True or false: in Casablanca (1942), someone says “Play it again, Sam.” Answer: false. Ilsa asks Sam, “Play it once, Sam, for old times’ sake,” and then, “Play it, Sam.” The famous version isn’t in the film.
2. True or false: in Field of Dreams (1989), the voice in the cornfield says “If you build it, they will come.” Answer: false. The line is “If you build it, he will come,” and the American Film Institute put it at number 39 on its list of 100 movie quotes.
3. True or false: in The Wizard of Oz book, Dorothy’s magic shoes are ruby slippers, just like in the 1939 film. Answer: false. In L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy wears Silver Shoes.

Number 3 is the one people most often get wrong. Ask for a show of hands before you read the answer, and give the point to anyone who says false.

Movie trivia tie-breakers: closest number wins

A tie-breaker needs an answer nobody is likely to know exactly, so whoever is closest wins. Read one of these to the two tied players or teams, have both write a number, and then reveal both at once.

1. How many puppies do Pongo and Perdita have in Disney’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians? Answer: 15.
2. Titanic (1997) won how many Academy Awards? Answer: 11, out of 14 nominations, which tied Ben-Hur (1959) for the most Oscars won by one film.
3. In what year was the first Academy Awards ceremony held? Answer: 1929, on May 16, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles.
4. How many films are in the main Harry Potter film series? Answer: 8, from 2001 to 2011.

The movie night kit has 24 more tie-breaker cards, like naming a film for every letter in CINEMA, or guessing tonight’s running time to the nearest minute. That second one works only if nobody has checked the case.

A “which came first” round works as a tie-breaker too, because you don’t need an exact date to get it right. Our Which Came First? Timeline Trivia Cards set has pop culture cards that pair things like Star Wars and Star Trek, or the first Harry Potter book and the first Harry Potter movie. Whoever reads the card can check the bottom strip, which prints the earlier one with its year.

Once the last tie is settled, our family game night ideas guide has games for a night when the TV stays off.