150 pop culture trivia questions and answers, easy to hard
Movies, TV, music, four decades, video games, books and award shows, with every answer checked. Each question is marked easy, medium or hard.
These 150 pop culture trivia questions stick to facts that stay true: release years, character names, famous lines and award history. There are no current records and no celebrity gossip, so the answers will still be right next year. Read them out at a team meeting or over lunch, or use the 5-round quiz night plan at the end.
Easy pop culture trivia questions
A warm-up round almost everyone can answer, whatever they watch or listen to.
1. Which Disney movie is about a young lion named Simba?
Answer: The Lion King · Easy
2. What is the name of the wizarding school Harry Potter attends?
Answer: Hogwarts · Easy
3. In the Super Mario games, what is the name of Mario's brother?
Answer: Luigi · Easy
4. Which Marvel superhero carries a round shield with a star on it?
Answer: Captain America · Easy
5. What kind of fish is Nemo in Finding Nemo?
Answer: A clownfish · Easy
6. Which pop star's fans are known as Swifties?
Answer: Taylor Swift · Easy
7. In The Wizard of Oz, what is the name of Dorothy's dog?
Answer: Toto · Easy
8. What is the name of Charlie Brown's dog?
Answer: Snoopy · Easy
9. Which animated film features the song “Let It Go”?
Answer: Frozen · Easy
10. Which cartoon character lives in a pineapple under the sea?
Answer: SpongeBob SquarePants · Easy
11. In Star Wars, who is Luke Skywalker's father?
Answer: Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker) · Easy
12. Which small yellow helpers first appeared in the film Despicable Me?
Answer: The Minions · Easy
Movie trivia questions
Classics and blockbusters: quotes, characters and the people who made them.
13. Which 1975 Steven Spielberg film made audiences afraid to go in the ocean?
Answer: Jaws · Easy
14. In The Matrix, which color pill does Neo take?
Answer: The red pill · Easy
15. Which 1939 film ends with the line “After all, tomorrow is another day”?
Answer: Gone with the Wind · Medium
16. Who directed the 1994 film Pulp Fiction?
Answer: Quentin Tarantino · Medium
17. In The Lord of the Rings, which hobbit is given the task of destroying the One Ring?
Answer: Frodo Baggins · Easy
18. In The Godfather, which animal's head does a film producer find in his bed?
Answer: A horse's · Medium
19. Which actor played Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean films?
Answer: Johnny Depp · Easy
20. In E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which candy does Elliott use to lure E.T.?
Answer: Reese's Pieces · Medium
21. Which 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film is famous for its shower scene?
Answer: Psycho · Medium
22. What is the name of the computer that turns on the crew in 2001: A Space Odyssey?
Answer: HAL 9000 · Medium
23. Which film series features a time machine built from a DeLorean car?
Answer: Back to the Future · Easy
24. Who played the Joker in the 2008 film The Dark Knight?
Answer: Heath Ledger · Medium
25. In which 2000 film does Tom Hanks talk to a volleyball named Wilson?
Answer: Cast Away · Easy
26. Which studio made Toy Story, the first feature film animated entirely by computer?
Answer: Pixar · Medium
27. Which 1994 prison drama is narrated by a character named Red, played by Morgan Freeman?
Answer: The Shawshank Redemption · Medium
28. In The Princess Bride, which three words does Westley say that really mean “I love you”?
Answer: “As you wish” · Medium
29. In the 1984 film Ghostbusters, which giant mascot stomps through New York City?
Answer: The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man · Medium
30. Which actor played James Bond in Dr. No, the first Bond film?
Answer: Sean Connery (1962) · Medium
TV trivia questions
Sitcoms, dramas and game shows, from black-and-white classics to streaming.
31. In Friends, what is the name of Ross's pet monkey?
Answer: Marcel · Medium
32. In Breaking Bad, which school subject did Walter White teach?
Answer: Chemistry · Easy
33. In Parks and Recreation, in which fictional Indiana town does Leslie Knope work?
Answer: Pawnee · Medium
34. In which city is the sitcom Cheers set?
Answer: Boston · Medium
35. In Game of Thrones, what is the seat of the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms called?
Answer: The Iron Throne · Easy
36. Which British sci-fi series stars a time traveler whose ship looks like a blue police box?
Answer: Doctor Who · Easy
37. Which animated series follows the Belcher family and their burger restaurant?
Answer: Bob's Burgers · Easy
38. In The Mandalorian, what is the real name of the character fans call Baby Yoda?
Answer: Grogu · Medium
39. On which game show do contestants spin a wheel and buy vowels?
Answer: Wheel of Fortune · Easy
40. In Seinfeld, what is Kramer's first name?
Answer: Cosmo · Medium
41. Which medical drama began at Seattle Grace Hospital?
Answer: Grey's Anatomy · Easy
42. In The Sopranos, in which US state does Tony Soprano live?
Answer: New Jersey · Easy
43. Who hosted Jeopardy! from 1984 until 2020?
Answer: Alex Trebek · Easy
44. In the original Star Trek, what is the name of Captain Kirk's starship?
Answer: The USS Enterprise · Easy
45. In The Big Bang Theory, which made-up word does Sheldon shout after a joke?
Answer: “Bazinga!” · Easy
46. Which sketch show opens with the line “Live from New York, it's Saturday night!”?
Answer: Saturday Night Live · Easy
47. Which sitcom follows the Dunphy, Pritchett and Tucker families?
Answer: Modern Family · Medium
48. In I Love Lucy, what is the name of Lucy's husband?
Answer: Ricky Ricardo · Medium
Music trivia questions
Nicknames, bands and albums your whole team has heard of.
49. How many strings does a standard guitar have?
Answer: 6 · Easy
50. Which singer is known as the Queen of Soul?
Answer: Aretha Franklin · Easy
51. Which country is the pop group ABBA from?
Answer: Sweden · Easy
52. Which rapper's alter ego is Slim Shady?
Answer: Eminem · Easy
53. Which instrument is jazz legend Louis Armstrong best known for playing?
Answer: The trumpet · Medium
54. Which band released the 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon?
Answer: Pink Floyd · Medium
55. Which rock star is nicknamed the Boss?
Answer: Bruce Springsteen · Easy
56. Which singer named her albums 19, 21, 25 and 30?
Answer: Adele · Easy
57. Which music festival took place on a dairy farm in Bethel, New York, in August 1969?
Answer: Woodstock · Medium
58. Which Beatles album cover shows the four band members walking across a street?
Answer: Abbey Road · Medium
59. Which US city is known as the birthplace of jazz?
Answer: New Orleans · Easy
60. What is the stage name of Stefani Germanotta?
Answer: Lady Gaga · Medium
61. Which country singer was known as the Man in Black?
Answer: Johnny Cash · Medium
62. Which group was Beyoncé a member of before her solo career?
Answer: Destiny's Child · Easy
63. Which rock band's members include Bono and the Edge?
Answer: U2 · Easy
64. In which city was Motown Records founded?
Answer: Detroit · Medium
65. Which reggae star led the band the Wailers?
Answer: Bob Marley · Easy
66. Which country singer released the song “Jolene” in 1973?
Answer: Dolly Parton · Easy
Pop culture trivia by decade
Ten questions each for the 80s, 90s, 2000s and 2010s. Mixed teams do best here, so split up the age groups.
80s pop culture trivia
MTV, arcades and the films everyone still quotes.
67. What was the first music video ever played on MTV?
Answer: “Video Killed the Radio Star” (by the Buggles) · Hard
68. Which 1985 film follows five high school students through a Saturday in detention?
Answer: The Breakfast Club · Easy
69. Which colorful puzzle cube became a worldwide craze in the early 1980s?
Answer: The Rubik's Cube · Easy
70. In which 1984 film does Mr. Miyagi teach a teenager martial arts?
Answer: The Karate Kid · Easy
71. Which artist released the album Purple Rain in 1984?
Answer: Prince · Medium
72. Which 1980s TV series featured a talking car named KITT?
Answer: Knight Rider · Medium
73. Which 1980 arcade game stars a yellow character who eats dots and runs from ghosts?
Answer: Pac-Man · Easy
74. Which 1982 Michael Jackson album includes “Billie Jean” and “Beat It”?
Answer: Thriller · Easy
75. In which 1986 film does Tom Cruise play a Navy pilot with the call sign Maverick?
Answer: Top Gun · Easy
76. Which sitcom followed Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia, four friends sharing a house in Miami?
Answer: The Golden Girls · Easy
90s pop culture trivia
Boy bands, virtual pets and appointment television.
77. Which sitcom's theme song begins “Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down”?
Answer: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air · Easy
78. In The X-Files, what are the last names of the two FBI agents?
Answer: Mulder and Scully · Medium
79. Which Canadian singer released the album Jagged Little Pill in 1995?
Answer: Alanis Morissette · Medium
80. Which band released the album Nevermind in 1991?
Answer: Nirvana · Easy
81. Which singer had a huge 1992 hit with “I Will Always Love You” from the film The Bodyguard?
Answer: Whitney Houston (Dolly Parton wrote it) · Easy
82. Which egg-shaped digital pet from Japan became a 1990s craze?
Answer: The Tamagotchi · Medium
83. Which British group's members were nicknamed Scary, Sporty, Baby, Ginger and Posh?
Answer: The Spice Girls · Easy
84. In which 1993 film does Bill Murray relive the same day over and over?
Answer: Groundhog Day · Easy
85. Which Nickelodeon cartoon followed babies named Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil?
Answer: Rugrats · Medium
86. Which boy band released “I Want It That Way” in 1999?
Answer: The Backstreet Boys · Easy
2000s pop culture trivia
Reality TV, the first MP3 players and the start of the superhero era.
87. In Mean Girls, on which day of the week do the Plastics wear pink?
Answer: Wednesday · Easy
88. Which reality show, first aired in the US in 2000, strands contestants in a remote place to vote each other out?
Answer: Survivor · Easy
89. Which medical drama starred Hugh Laurie as a brilliant, grumpy diagnostician?
Answer: House · Easy
90. Which Apple device launched in 2001 with the promise of “1,000 songs in your pocket”?
Answer: The iPod · Easy
91. Who won the first season of American Idol in 2002?
Answer: Kelly Clarkson · Medium
92. Which 2009 James Cameron film is set on a moon called Pandora?
Answer: Avatar · Easy
93. In The Devil Wears Prada, what is the name of the fashion magazine Miranda Priestly runs?
Answer: Runway · Medium
94. Which band released the album American Idiot in 2004?
Answer: Green Day · Medium
95. Which 2008 film was the first in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Answer: Iron Man · Medium
96. Which singer released the hit song “Umbrella” in 2007?
Answer: Rihanna · Easy
2010s pop culture trivia
Streaming, viral challenges and songs you could not escape.
97. In Stranger Things, what is the dark alternate dimension called?
Answer: The Upside Down · Easy
98. In the 2010 film Inception, which object does Cobb spin to check whether he is dreaming?
Answer: A spinning top · Medium
99. What is the name of the kingdom in Disney's Frozen?
Answer: Arendelle · Medium
100. Which 2012 song by Psy was the first YouTube video to reach one billion views?
Answer: “Gangnam Style” · Easy
101. Which 2016 mobile game sent players outside to catch creatures on their phones?
Answer: Pokémon Go · Easy
102. In which 2019 film do the Avengers travel through time to undo Thanos's snap?
Answer: Avengers: Endgame · Easy
103. In 2014, which viral challenge had people pouring ice water over their heads to raise money for ALS research?
Answer: The Ice Bucket Challenge · Easy
104. Which 2017 hit by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee has a Spanish title that means “slowly”?
Answer: “Despacito” · Easy
105. In 2015, the internet argued over a photo of a dress. Which two color pairs did people see?
Answer: Blue and black, or white and gold (the dress was blue and black) · Medium
106. Which Pharrell Williams song from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack became a worldwide hit?
Answer: “Happy” · Easy
Internet and video game trivia
Consoles, memes and the websites that changed how we waste time.
107. Which puzzle game, created by Alexey Pajitnov in 1984, has players stack falling blocks?
Answer: Tetris · Easy
108. Which handheld console did Nintendo launch in 1989?
Answer: The Game Boy · Easy
109. Which website launched in 2005 with a first video titled “Me at the zoo”?
Answer: YouTube · Medium
110. Which early social network let users rank their “Top 8” friends?
Answer: MySpace · Medium
111. Which app launched in 2010 as a way to share square photos with filters?
Answer: Instagram · Easy
112. In Minecraft, what is the green monster that sneaks up on players and explodes?
Answer: A Creeper · Easy
113. In The Legend of Zelda games, what is the name of the hero you play?
Answer: Link (Zelda is the princess) · Medium
114. Which Sega mascot is a fast blue hedgehog?
Answer: Sonic the Hedgehog · Easy
115. In the Pokémon animated series, which Pokémon is Ash's partner?
Answer: Pikachu · Easy
116. What does GIF stand for?
Answer: Graphics Interchange Format · Hard
117. What is the prank called when a link unexpectedly opens Rick Astley's “Never Gonna Give You Up”?
Answer: Rickrolling · Easy
118. Which app of the 2010s was built around six-second looping videos?
Answer: Vine · Medium
119. Which free online encyclopedia, written by volunteers, launched in 2001?
Answer: Wikipedia · Easy
120. Which video game series stars a soldier called Master Chief?
Answer: Halo · Medium
Books and comics trivia
Bestsellers, superheroes and the comic strips from the newspaper.
121. Who wrote the Harry Potter books?
Answer: J.K. Rowling · Easy
122. In The Hunger Games, what is the name of the heroine?
Answer: Katniss Everdeen · Easy
123. Which superhero's real name is Peter Parker?
Answer: Spider-Man · Easy
124. What is the name of Superman's home planet?
Answer: Krypton · Easy
125. Which comic strip cat loves lasagna and hates Mondays?
Answer: Garfield · Easy
126. Which author created the detective Hercule Poirot?
Answer: Agatha Christie · Medium
127. In which fictional city does Batman fight crime?
Answer: Gotham City · Easy
128. In the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, what kind of animal is Hobbes?
Answer: A tiger · Easy
129. Which author wrote Carrie, The Shining and It?
Answer: Stephen King · Easy
130. Which comic book reporter travels the world with his white dog, Snowy?
Answer: Tintin · Medium
131. Which cartoonist created the comic strip Peanuts?
Answer: Charles M. Schulz · Medium
132. Which Roald Dahl book introduced the candy maker Willy Wonka?
Answer: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory · Easy
Award show trivia
Oscar history that is already in the record books, plus the awards nobody campaigns for.
133. What is the nickname of the Academy Award statuette?
Answer: Oscar · Easy
134. What do the four letters in EGOT stand for?
Answer: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony · Medium
135. Which South Korean film was the first not in English to win the Oscar for Best Picture?
Answer: Parasite (at the 2020 ceremony) · Medium
136. At the 2017 Oscars, which film was announced as Best Picture by mistake before Moonlight was named the winner?
Answer: La La Land · Medium
137. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won every Oscar it was nominated for. How many was that?
Answer: 11 · Hard
138. Which joke awards “honor” the worst films of the year?
Answer: The Razzies (the Golden Raspberry Awards) · Medium
139. Which Nickelodeon awards show hands out orange blimp trophies and is famous for green slime?
Answer: The Kids' Choice Awards · Easy
140. Who was the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Director?
Answer: Kathryn Bigelow (for The Hurt Locker) · Hard
141. Which 1991 Disney film was the first animated movie nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture?
Answer: Beauty and the Beast · Medium
142. Which film won the first Oscar for Best Animated Feature, at the 2002 ceremony?
Answer: Shrek · Medium
Hard pop culture trivia questions
For the team that has seen everything. Use these for double points or a tiebreaker.
143. In the TV series Lost, what is the number of the Oceanic flight that crashes?
Answer: 815 · Hard
144. In the 1979 film Alien, what is the name of the crew's spaceship?
Answer: The Nostromo · Hard
145. In what year was the first Academy Awards ceremony held?
Answer: 1929 · Hard
146. In Marvel comics, which fictional metal coats Wolverine's skeleton and claws?
Answer: Adamantium · Hard
147. What is the name of the George R. R. Martin book series that Game of Thrones is based on?
Answer: A Song of Ice and Fire · Hard
148. Which Dr. Seuss book was written using only 50 different words?
Answer: Green Eggs and Ham · Hard
149. Which 1927 film was the first feature-length movie with synchronized spoken dialogue?
Answer: The Jazz Singer · Hard
150. Which actor played the very first Doctor in Doctor Who, in 1963?
Answer: William Hartnell · Hard
A ready-to-run pop culture quiz night in 5 rounds
Fifty of the questions above, already sorted into five rounds of ten. It fills an hour for 8 to 60 people, in a conference room or on a video call.
Round 1: Warm-up
Questions 1 to 10. Ten easy ones so every team is on the board early.
Round 2: Screen time
Questions 13 to 17 and 31 to 35. Five movie questions, then five TV questions.
Round 3: Name that decade
Questions 67 to 69, 77 to 79, 87 to 88 and 97 to 98. A few from each decade, so every age group gets a turn to shine.
Round 4: Headphones and controllers
Questions 49 to 53 and 107 to 111. Five music questions, then five on games and the internet.
Round 5: Double points finale
Questions 133 to 134 and 143 to 150. Award show history and the hard round. Each right answer is worth two points.
The 60-minute run of show
- Minutes 0 to 5: teams and names. Split into teams of four to six, mixing ages and departments. Each team picks a name and one person to write answers.
- Minutes 5 to 50: five rounds of ten. Read each question twice, give teams about 30 seconds, then collect answers at the end of the round. Read the answers and the scores before the next round starts.
- Minutes 50 to 55: the tiebreaker. If two teams are level, ask in what year MTV first went on air. The answer is 1981, and the closest guess wins.
- Minutes 55 to 60: winners and photos. Announce third, second and first place, hand over a small prize and take the team photo while everyone is still smiling.
House rules to read out first
- One point per correct answer, two in the final round.
- Phones face down. Looking it up costs the round.
- The host's answer sheet is final, even when someone is sure it's wrong.
- Accept last names and close spellings. It's a party, not a spelling test.
For a printable score sheet and more on timing, see how to host a trivia night. Want a sixth round? Add general knowledge from our trivia questions for work or fun trivia questions, and in December swap the decades round for Christmas movie trivia.
Want someone to run this for your team?
A live host brings the questions, the scoring and the energy, so you get to play too. For film fans, Blockbuster Bash! The Ultimate Film Quiz is a host-led movie quiz that teams play live on their phones, with themed rounds, clips and soundtracks. Book about 2 weeks ahead, or get a free quote with your date and headcount.
Hosted trivia, two ways: on a video call for remote teams, or live at your office in 17 US cities. Live prices below, or see every virtual trivia night.
