Movie trivia is the friendliest kind — everyone has seen something. These fourteen span a century of cinema without requiring a film degree.
What is the highest-grossing film of all time, unadjusted for inflation?
Avatar (2009) — roughly $2.9 billion worldwide.
Which three films are tied for the most Oscar wins, with 11 each?
Ben-Hur, Titanic, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Who was the first actor to refuse an Academy Award?
George C. Scott, for Patton (1970). Marlon Brando famously followed in 1973.
What was the first feature-length animated film?
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).
In Jaws, the mechanical shark was so unreliable that Spielberg mostly kept it off screen. What was its nickname?
Bruce — after Spielberg's lawyer.
Which movie features the famously improvised line 'I'm walking here!'?
Midnight Cowboy (1969), from Dustin Hoffman.
What is the only X-rated film to win Best Picture?
Midnight Cowboy again — the rating was later changed to R.
Which actor has the most Academy Award acting wins?
Katharine Hepburn, with four Best Actress Oscars.
What 1993 blockbuster used a mix of animatronics and groundbreaking CGI to bring dinosaurs to life?
Jurassic Park.
In The Wizard of Oz, what color were Dorothy's slippers in the original book?
Silver — they became ruby to show off Technicolor.
Which composer has scored the most Best Picture winners and holds 50+ Oscar nominations?
John Williams — the most-nominated living person in Oscar history.
What was the first film ever to gross $100 million at the box office?
Jaws (1975) — the original summer blockbuster.
Which country produces the most films per year?
India — Bollywood and its sister industries out-produce Hollywood several times over.
What does the C.G.I. in 'CGI' stand for?
Computer-generated imagery.
The ruby-slippers answer is the archetype of great trivia: a tiny fact that explains a whole era of filmmaking in one sentence.
