100 80s Movie Trivia Questions (Ranked from Easiest to Hardest)

The 1980s were a decade of iconic movies that have become ingrained in popular culture. From action and adventure films to romantic comedies, there is a wide range of 80s movie trivia questions that can be asked. Whether you're a movie buff or just looking to test your knowledge, these 80s movie trivia questions are sure to be both informative and entertaining.

Here are some examples of 80s movie trivia questions you might come across: Who directed the movie "E.T."? Who starred in "The Breakfast Club"? What was the highest-grossing film of the 1980s? Who played the villain in "Die Hard"? These questions cover a wide range of iconic films from the 80s, including box office hits, award-winning films, and cult classics.

In addition to the technical aspects of 80s movies, there are also many fun and interesting facts to learn about. For example, did you know that the movie "E.T." was the highest-grossing film of the 1980s and the highest-grossing film of all time (until Jurassic Park surpassed it in 1993)? Or that the movie "The Breakfast Club" was filmed in only 30 days? These trivia questions will not only test your knowledge, but also give you a glimpse into the many fascinating aspects of the 80s movies and the impact they have had on our culture and entertainment.

100 80s Movie Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2026)

1. "Goose," "Jester," "Hollywood," and "Wolfman" are nicknames of some flying military bros in what 1986 movie?

Answer: Top Gun

2. In what 1987 movie does Baby Houseman fall in love with her dance instructor? We're looking for a two-word answer here.

Answer: Dirty Dancing

3. "If you build it, they will come" is the repeated thought in Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella's head in which 1989 baseball film? It leads Ray to turn one of his cornfields into a baseball diamond.

Answer: Field of Dreams

4. The Empire Strikes Back hit theaters during Memorial Day Weekend in 1980. That same week, an iconic horror film opened but had a relatively weak opening at the box office because it was counter-programmed against the Star Wars installment. What was this Jack Nicholson-starring horror film?

Answer: The Shining

5. Long before he played Ethan Hunt in the "Mission: Impossible" films, what actor played a teenager who gets into trouble while his parents are away in the 1983 film "Risky Business?"

Answer: Tom Cruise

6. In 1983's War Games, Matthew Broderick averts nuclear disaster by instructing the out-of-control supercomputer to play against itself in what 3x3 children's game?

Answer: Tic Tac Toe

7. In which 1989 movie does English teacher John Keating, played by Robin Williams, urge his students to “seize the day?”

Answer: Dead Poets Society

8. Not featuring the Griffith Park Observatory or the Staples Center, 1982's "Blade Runner" is set in what American city?

Answer: Los Angeles

9. The 1988 Tom Cruise vehicle "Cocktail" gave the world what latter-day Beach Boys song that name-drops Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, and Bahama?

Answer: Kokomo

10. Which comedy set in Mexico stars Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short as a trio of friends?

Answer: Three Amigos

11. Which 1983 film (based on the book of the same name by S.E. Hinton) about rival gangs in Oklahoma in the ‘60s was chock full of young stars, including Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, and Emilio Estevez?

Answer: The Outsiders

12. What 1985 mystery comedy had three different endings? The movie was based on a board game and starred Tim Curry, Michael McKean, and Madeline Kahn, among others.

Answer: Clue

13. Although a single octave "Walking Piano" was there already, director Penny Marshall had a new, three-octave version installed at what toy store for the movie Big?

Answer: FAO Schwarz

14. Which 1985 rom-com starred Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn, and Madonna (yeah, that Madonna) in an unusual love triangle?

Answer: Desperately Seeking Susan

15. Charlie Sheen portrayed a recently-released prisoner named Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn, who went on to play Major League Baseball for Cleveland in what sports comedy film?

Answer: â€œMajor Leagueâ€?

16. In what 1985 movie does the main character's mother mistakenly believe her son's name is "Calvin Klein"?

Answer: Back to the Future

17. That's not a box office gross. THIS is a box office gross: what 1986 film is the highest-grossing Australian movie of all time?

Answer: Crocodile Dundee

18. What 1987 comedy, featuring Steve Martin in a prosthetic nose, is based on Edmund Rostand's play Cyrano de Bergerac?

Answer: Roxanne

19. Before Denis Villeneuve's 2021 mega-hit adaptation of Dune, there was the 1984 box office bust starring Kyle MacLachlan and directed by what auteur?

Answer: David Lynch

20. What 1984 Robert Redford movie revolves around the life and career of fictional baseball player Roy Hobbs?

Answer: The Natural

21. "The Goonies" sees Mikey, Data, Mouth, and Chunk search for the treasure of a pirate whose name implies he only has one of what body part?

Answer: Eye (One-Eyed Willy)

22. Charlie Babbitt abducts his older brother Raymond from a Cincinnati assisted-living facility at the start of what road-tripping '80s Best Picture Oscar winner?

Answer: Rain Man

23. In 1986, U.S. President Ronald Reagan invoked the quote "Where we're going, we don't need roads," from what 1985 cult classic Robert Zemeckis-directed film?

Answer: Back To The Future

24. A dude named Steve on AirBNB offers tours of the Philadelphia Macy's in the Wanamaker Building, site of what 1987 movie with Andrew McCarthy, dating an animated department store statue played by Kim Cattrall?

Answer: Mannequin

25. After seeing her stage show, author Alice Walker personally chose Whoopi Goldberg for the role of Celie in what 1985 literary adaptation that got a 2023 musical movie version?

Answer: The Color Purple

26. In the 1986 classic "Top Gun," Tom Cruise's character uses the callsign "Maverick," and Anthony Edwards uses "Goose." What's the callsign of Maverick's rival, played by Val Kilmer?

Answer: Iceman

27. John Hurt starred as Winston Smith and Richard Burton as the sinister O'Brien in what literary adaptation, which came out—as was appropriate—in the mid-1980s?

Answer: Nineteen Eighty-Four

28. Which 1987 war drama directed by Stanley Kubrick starred Matthew Modine as "Joker" Davis and Vincent D'Onofrio as “Gomer Pyle" Lawrence, young Marines during the Vietnam War?

Answer: Full Metal Jacket

29. What 1987 fantasy-adventure movie starred Robin Wright and Cary Elwes as characters named Buttercup and Westley, respectively, and was made from a William Goldman novel of the same name? In 2016, the movie was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry.

Answer: Princess Bride

30. What 1985 teen comedy features a dream sequence starring dancing hamburgers and French fries, filmed using stop-motion animation?

Answer: Better Off Dead

31. What 1984 Wolfgang Peterson fantasy film is about Bastian getting sucked into the land of Fantasia while reading a book about it? The movie is an hour and a half long, much shorter than the title implies.

Answer: The Neverending Story

32. There can only be one! Which 1986 action-adventure film was the first in a franchise starring Christopher Lambert as a Scottish warrior in the 16th century who must fight for the Prize?

Answer: Highlander

33. What African American comedian “won” a Razzie in 1990 for Worst Screenplay for his portrayal of a New York hustler nicknamed "Quick" in the 1989 film “Harlem Nights"?

Answer: Eddie Murphy

34. According to the title of a 1989 movie directed by Oliver Stone, on what date was the main character born?

Answer: Fourth of July

35. What pizza restaurant, located on Main Street in its namesake Connecticut town, was also the name of a 1988 romantic comedy-drama directed by Donald Petrie, and starring Vincent D’Onofrio and a young Julia Roberts?

Answer: Mystic Pizza

36. A bunch of clique-ish high school blondes who share the same name provided the title of what 1988 Winona Ryder black comedy that ended up getting the full Broadway musical treatment in 2010?

Answer: Heathers

37. Who played Hans Gruber in Die Hard and earned a spot on the AFI's "100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains" list as the 46th best villain in film history? He later revealed he almost did not take the role as he did not think Die Hard was the kind of film he wanted to make.

Answer: Alan Rickman

38. Using a platform and three springboards, Thornton Melon pulls off the impossible Triple Lindy to win a competition in what sport at the end of 1986's "Back to School"?

Answer: Diving

39. What 1984 rom-com starred Tom Hanks as a man who falls in love with the mermaid who saved him from drowning when he was a kid?

Answer: Splash

40. In the affectionate Star Wars parody, “Space Balls,” the film renames the slimy crime lord “Jabba” to something far less sinister and perhaps a bit more delicious. What is this character’s new name?

Answer: Pizza the Hut

41. The huge fins and grill, not to mention the additional sirens and sci-fi hardware, made the 1959 Cadillac Meteor-Miller modified for what 1984 film instantly iconic?

Answer: Ghostbusters

42. In "The Lost Boys", what amphibian is also the surname shared by the teenage vampire hunters Edgar and Alan?

Answer: Frog

43. Which single-named superstar won an Oscar for “Moonstruck” (1987)?

Answer: Cher

44. Real-life couple Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner met (and perhaps did a little canoodling) on the set of which 1982 comedic mystery movie directed by Sidney Poitier?

Answer: Hanky Panky

45. Taking place over the course of a whole day (rather than just the morning), which 1986 movie stars Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald, and Judd Nelson as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal?

Answer: The Breakfast Club

46. Henry Jones Senior, a character in a 1989 action-adventure film who accompanies his son on a quest to find the Holy Grail, was played by which "Untouchable" Oscar-winning actor?

Answer: Sean Connery (in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)

47. What 1980 movie by David Lynch told of the true-life relationship between a heavily disfigured man named John Merrick and Dr. Frederick Treves? I'm sure you won't forget it.

Answer: The Elephant Man

48. In what state was E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the highest-grossing film of the 1980s, set?

Answer: California

49. At the end of the 1989 film Dead Poets Society, the students stand on their desks reciting "O Captain! My Captain!" in support of fired teacher John Keating. Keating taught the students the famous poem, which was written by what poet upon the death of President Abraham Lincoln?

Answer: Walt Whitman

50. A 1984 Star Wars spinoff film follows what fluffy puppet creatures who live on the Moon of Endor, and who were first introduced in Return of the Jedi?

Answer: Ewoks

51. 80s kids' first introduction to the late singer Harry Belafonte likely came at the end of what movie, where Winona Ryder dances through the air to "Jump in the Line?"

Answer: Beetlejuice

52. Deep-voiced actress Kathleen Turner voiced what iconic sex symbol from a 1988 movie, who famously declared, "I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way?"

Answer: Jessica Rabbit

53. Haystack Rock, an iconic sea formation off the coast of Oregon's Cannon Beach, helps the title characters of what 1985 movie navigate a mysterious map?

Answer: The Goonies

54. What 1988 Stephen Frears' period drama stars Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Uma Thurman, and Keanu Reeves and is based on a play by Christopher Hampton? The play is from an 18th-century novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.

Answer: Dangerous Liaisons

55. What 1986 Spike Lee joint was rebooted as a comedy television series in the late 2010s starring DeWanda Wise as Nola Darling, a woman who juggles between three different lovers?

Answer: She’s Gotta Have It

56. 1986's "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" sees the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise travel back in time to bring back what animal, which has become extinct in their time?

Answer: Humpback Whale

57. Sissy Spacek won a Best Actress Oscar in 1981 for playing what legendary musician, born into poverty in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, in 1932 before growing up to be one of her genre's greatest stars?

Answer: Loretta Lynn

58. Actor Wilford Brimley was 50 years, nine months, and six days old when what movie premiered, leading to a tongue-in-cheek milestone known as the "Brimley Line?"

Answer: Cocoon

59. The story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) and one of the first African-American units of the U.S. Army, was turned into what 1989 film?

Answer: Glory

60. What 1985 winner of the Best Picture Oscar starred Robert Redford and Meryl Streep and was filmed on location in Kenya?

Answer: Out of Africa

61. Daniel Day-Lewis and Juliette Binoche starred in a 1988 adaptation of what novel by the acclaimed Czechoslovakian writer Milan Kundera?

Answer: The Unbearable Lightness of Being

62. The Short-Timers, a semi-autobiographical novel by Vietnam vet Gustav Hasford, was turned into what critically acclaimed 1987 war film?

Answer: Full Metal Jacket

63. What 1982 Werner Herzog movie, about an Irishman who tries to move a boat overland between rivers in South America, was made doing just that?

Answer: Fitzcarraldo

64. "Did you know your last name is an adverb?" Marilu Henner asks what title gangster, played by Joe Piscopo, in a 1984 parody film?

Answer: Johnny Dangerously

65. Stock footage, clips from Japanese TV shows, and documentary footage filmed by director Chris Marker, are all included in what 1983 documentary that is considered among the greatest ever made?

Answer: Sans Soleil

66. What 1985 Brat Pack film, about a group of recent Georgetown University graduates, is named after a meteorological phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created from the electrical discharge of a rod-like structure, like a ship's mast?

Answer: St. Elmo's Fire

67. What 1983 movie about a group of friends gathering to attend the funeral of another friend was directed by Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote “The Empire Strikes Back”?

Answer: The Big Chill

68. What deaf actress won the Best Actress Oscar for the 1986 drama “Children of a Lesser God,” also starring William Hurt?

Answer: Marlee Matlin

69. Directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell, what 1982 movie is about a group of research scientists in Antarctica being attacked by a shape-shifting alien?

Answer: The Thing

70. 1982's "E.T.: The Extraterrestrial "led to a 300% bump in the sale of what candy favored by the title alien, much to the satisfaction of the Hershey Company?

Answer: Reese's Pieces

71. A 1903 Tribeca Beaux-Art building, home to the real-life Hook & Ladder Company 8, famously featured as the firehouse in what 1984 film?

Answer: Ghostbusters

72. 30 years before the premiere of the movie itself, to what year does Marty McFly get sent back to in the original "Back to the Future"?

Answer: 1955

73. Greek electronic composer Vangelis might be best remembered for providing the Academy Award-winning score to what 1981 sports drama?

Answer: Chariots of Fire

74. 2121 Avenue of the Stars in Los Angeles, formerly known as Fox Plaza, might be most famous as what office tower taken over by terrorists in the action classic "Die Hard"?

Answer: Nakatomi Plaza

75. What 1980 Martin Scorsese movie tells the real-life story of boxing middleweight champion Jake La Motta, from his early days in the ring to his later life running a nightclub?

Answer: Raging Bull

76. What 1988 Charles Crichton comedy involved a jewel heist and its aftermath, and included Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Palin, and Kevin Kline as part of the gang and John Cleese as a frustrated barrister? Kevin Kline won an Oscar for his performance.

Answer: A Fish Called Wanda

77. What 1982 Sam Raimi zombie film referred to itself as "The ultimate experience in grueling horror"?

Answer: The Evil Dead

78. A lightning strike bestows sentience upon a plucky robot known as "Number 5" in what 1986 comedy starring Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg?

Answer: Short Circuit

79. "Blue Velvet" is a 1986 neo-noir film that was directed and written by what popular "surrealist"?

Answer: David Lynch

80. What 1986 teen movie is about Andie, a high school social outcast played by Molly Ringwald, who is courted by her best friend Duckie, as well as the rich Blane? Directed by Howard Deutch and written by John Hughes, it shares its name with a Psychedelic Furs song that is the movie’s theme song.

Answer: Pretty In Pink

81. What 1988 Ron Howard fantasy film stars Warwick Davis as the titular aspiring sorcerer who tries to save a prophesied baby from harm? Val Kilmer plays a mercenary who helps the hero.

Answer: Willow

82. About just plain folks, what 1980 Best Picture winner starred Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, and Timothy Hutton, and was Robert Redford's directorial debut?

Answer: Ordinary People

83. Meryl Streep won a Best Actress Oscar for her starring role as a woman who survived the Holocaust after making a haunting decision in which 1982 historical drama based on William Styron’s novel by the same name?

Answer: Sophie's Choice

84. Which 1981 comedy horror movie, written and directed by John Landis, was the first movie to win an Oscar for Best Makeup?

Answer: An American Werewolf in London

85. What is "best in life" is "to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women," according to the title character from what 1982 action flick?

Answer: Conan the Barbarian

86. In 1982, what race-car driving, his “Own” foods-selling dazzling blue-eyed having actor starred as a lawyer angling for a comeback Frank Galvin in Sidney Lumet’s The Verdict?

Answer: Paul Newman

87. What 1983 flick was a fast and loose take on Romeo and Juliet, starring Deborah Foreman as popular Julie and Nicolas Cage as a city punk, Randy?

Answer: Valley Girl

88. What was the real first name of Indiana Jones? Hint: it's not Illinois or Iowa; it's much more boring than that.

Answer: Henry

89. Often credited with having the best soundtrack in movie history, what 1984 film centers on an enigmatic, plum motorcycle-drivin' musician known as The Kid?

Answer: Purple Rain

90. What 1989 Spike Lee film, set on a summer's day in New York's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, was named by Rolling Stone magazine as the greatest movie of the 1980s?

Answer: Do the Right Thing

91. Michael J Fox was cast as Marty McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy after he replaced which other actor who never reached the same heights he did?

Answer: Eric Stoltz

92. What 1985 Woody Allen film tells the story of a waitress played by Mia Farrow and a movie character (and the actor who plays him) portrayed by Jeff Daniels?

Answer: The Purple Rose of Cairo

93. As Air Force Colonel "Chappy" Sinclair, Louis Gossett Jr. helps a teen gank a couple of F-16s for a clandestine rescue mission in what definitely-not-"Top Gun" 1986 movie?

Answer: Iron Eagle

94. What 1988 documentary from Errol Morris resulted in a man named Randall Adams being released from prison? Adams had been slated for execution before Morris made his documentary.

Answer: The Thin Blue Line

95. What 1983 movie was adapted from Tom Wolfe's bestselling book about the beginnings of the U.S. space program?

Answer: The Right Stuff

96. “Once Upon a Time In America,” a story about gangsters in New York, was directed by what man noted for his “spaghetti Westerns” such as “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”?

Answer: Sergio Leone

97. What 1987 Coen Brothers feature stars Holly Hunter as a former police officer and Nicholas Cage as her husband, a small-time crook who kidnaps a baby for her?

Answer: Raising Arizona

98. Talking Heads frontman David Byrne claimed to be inspired by Japanese Noh theater when he created the "big suit" famously featured in what 1984 concert film?

Answer: Stop Making Sense

99. What 1984 film about a Texas bartender caught in a murder plot, starring John Getz, Frances McDormand, and Dan Hedaya, was the first joint directorial effort from Joel and Ethan Coen?

Answer: Blood Simple

100. Featuring Bette Midler’s Grammy-winning rendition of "Wind Beneath My Wings," the 1988 tear-jerking film "Beaches" is based on what author’s namesake novel, released in 1985?

Answer: Iris Rainer Dart

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