Catalog / Movies & TV Trivia Cheatsheet
Movies & TV Trivia Cheatsheet
A handy reference guide packed with interesting trivia and facts about movies and television, perfect for quizzes, trivia nights, or just expanding your knowledge.
General Movie Trivia
Box Office Blockbusters
|
Highest Grossing Film (Unadjusted) |
Avatar (2009) - $2,923,706,026 |
|
Highest Grossing Film (Adjusted for Inflation) |
Gone with the Wind (1939) - Estimated $3.7 Billion |
|
Fastest Film to $1 Billion |
Avengers: Endgame (2019) - 5 days |
|
Most Expensive Film |
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) - $379 Million |
|
Franchise with Highest Gross Revenue |
Marvel Cinematic Universe - $29.6 Billion |
Academy Awards
|
Most Oscars Won by a Film |
Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) - 11 Oscars each |
|
Most Oscar Nominations (Film) |
All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), La La Land (2016) - 14 Nominations each |
|
Actor with Most Oscar Wins |
Katharine Hepburn - 4 wins |
|
Director with Most Oscar Wins |
John Ford - 4 wins |
|
Longest Film to Win Best Picture |
Gone With the Wind (1939) - 238 minutes |
Behind the Scenes
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The Wilhelm Scream is a famous stock sound effect used in countless movies, from Star Wars to Indiana Jones. |
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Alfred Hitchcock made a cameo appearance in almost all of his films. |
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The famous line “Here’s looking at you, kid” from Casablanca was improvised by Humphrey Bogart. |
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The original script for Pulp Fiction was over 500 pages long. |
Television Tidbits
TV Show Firsts
|
First Regularly Scheduled TV Broadcast |
BBC (1936) |
|
First Color TV Broadcast |
Rose Parade (1954) - NBC |
|
Longest Running Primetime TV Drama |
Law & Order - 20 seasons |
|
First Animated TV Show |
Crusader Rabbit (1950) |
|
First Sitcom |
Mary Kay and Johnny (1947) |
Popular TV Themes
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The theme song for Friends, “I’ll Be There for You” by The Rembrandts, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart in 1995. |
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The Game of Thrones theme song was composed by Ramin Djawadi. |
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The theme song for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was performed by Will Smith himself. |
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The opening theme for The Simpsons was composed by Danny Elfman. |
Iconic TV Characters
|
Walter White |
Breaking Bad |
|
Homer Simpson |
The Simpsons |
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Don Draper |
Mad Men |
|
Tyrion Lannister |
Game of Thrones |
Animated Movie Magic
Disney Milestones
|
First Full-Length Animated Feature |
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) |
|
First Animated Film to Gross $1 Billion |
Toy Story 3 (2010) |
|
Most Expensive Animated Movie |
Tangled (2010) - $260 Million |
|
Animated Movie with Most Sequels |
Mickey Mouse (Numerous shorts and films) |
Pixar Prowess
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Pixar’s Luxo Jr. (1986) was the first CGI short film nominated for an Academy Award. |
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Every Pixar movie contains the Pizza Planet truck, a recurring Easter egg. |
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The character Boo from Monsters, Inc. was voiced by a child who was recorded while playing, rather than reading lines. |
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The Incredibles was originally conceived as a traditionally animated film before Pixar decided to tackle it with CGI. |
Animation Techniques
|
Traditional Animation |
Hand-drawn animation, like classic Disney films. |
|
Stop-Motion Animation |
Involves physically manipulating objects and photographing them one frame at a time (e.g., Wallace & Gromit). |
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CGI Animation |
Computer-generated imagery (e.g., Toy Story). |
|
Rotoscoping |
Animators trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame (e.g., Waking Life). |
Cult Classics & Fan Favorites
Midnight Movies
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The Rocky Horror Picture Show is one of the most famous midnight movies, known for its interactive screenings. |
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Eraserhead directed by David Lynch, is a surrealist horror film that gained a cult following for its bizarre imagery. |
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Pink Flamingos by John Waters is another popular midnight movie notorious for its outrageous and transgressive content. |
Sci-Fi Staples
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Blade Runner (1982) |
Directed by Ridley Scott, this dystopian sci-fi film is known for its visual style and philosophical themes. |
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Starship Troopers (1997) |
Directed by Paul Verhoeven, this satirical military sci-fi film has garnered a cult following. |
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Gattaca (1997) |
A biopunk science fiction film depicting a future society driven by eugenics. |
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Brazil (1985) |
Directed by Terry Gilliam, Brazil is a dystopian black comedy science fiction film. |
TV Show Comebacks
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Arrested Development was revived by Netflix after its original cancellation, becoming a pioneer for TV show revivals. |
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Twin Peaks returned after more than 25 years with David Lynch directing all episodes of the revival. |
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Full House was brought back as Fuller House, featuring many of the original cast members. |