The Oscars have handed out golden statuettes, historic firsts, and a few envelope-sized surprises for nearly a century.
This Oscars trivia guide dates records through the 97th Academy Awards in 2025 and names ceremony years whenever the calendar could get confusing.
Oscar Night Basics
Start with the rules, symbols, and traditions behind Hollywood's best-known awards night.
- What is the formal name of the Oscars?
Answer: The Academy Awards - Which organization presents the Academy Awards?
Answer: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - In what year was the first Academy Awards ceremony held?
Answer: 1929 - Where was the first ceremony held?
Answer: The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel - What nickname is commonly used for the Academy Award statuette?
Answer: Oscar - What is the statuette holding?
Answer: A crusader's sword - What is the statuette standing on?
Answer: A reel of film - How many spokes appear on the film reel beneath the statuette?
Answer: Five - What do those five spokes originally represent?
Answer: The Academy's five original branches - Who designed the statuette?
Answer: Cedric Gibbons - Who sculpted the original statuette?
Answer: George Stanley - What metal is the modern statuette plated with?
Answer: Gold - What phrase is traditionally used when announcing a winner?
Answer: And the Oscar goes to... - What company has tabulated Oscar ballots since 1935?
Answer: PricewaterhouseCoopers, formerly Price Waterhouse - Which network has televised the ceremony in the United States since 1976?
Answer: ABC
Early Winners and Golden Age Milestones
These questions cover ceremonies from 1929 through 1959, when the awards were building their mythology.
- Which film won the first award for Outstanding Picture at the 1929 ceremony?
Answer: Wings - Who won Best Actor at the first ceremony?
Answer: Emil Jannings - Who won Best Actress at the first ceremony?
Answer: Janet Gaynor - Which 1927 film received the unique award for artistic quality of production?
Answer: Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans - What 1935 film became the first to sweep Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay?
Answer: It Happened One Night - Who directed It Happened One Night?
Answer: Frank Capra - Which film won Outstanding Production at the 1940 ceremony?
Answer: Gone with the Wind - Who became the first Black Oscar winner at the 1940 ceremony?
Answer: Hattie McDaniel - For which film did Hattie McDaniel win?
Answer: Gone with the Wind - Which 1941 film won Best Picture over The Grapes of Wrath and The Philadelphia Story?
Answer: Rebecca - Which film won Best Picture at the 1943 ceremony?
Answer: Mrs. Miniver - What 1942 release won Best Picture at the 1944 ceremony?
Answer: Casablanca - Who directed Casablanca?
Answer: Michael Curtiz - Which 1951 film won Best Picture at the 1952 ceremony?
Answer: An American in Paris - Which epic won Best Picture at the 1960 ceremony and a record-tying 11 Oscars?
Answer: Ben-Hur
From the 1960s Through the 1980s
New Hollywood arrives, musicals battle dramas, and some of cinema's most quoted winners take the stage.
- Which 1961 musical won Best Picture at the 1962 ceremony?
Answer: West Side Story - Which actor won Best Actor for To Kill a Mockingbird at the 1963 ceremony?
Answer: Gregory Peck - Which 1965 musical won Best Picture at the 1966 ceremony?
Answer: The Sound of Music - Which film won Best Picture at the 1968 ceremony?
Answer: In the Heat of the Night - Who won Best Actor for Patton at the 1971 ceremony but refused the award?
Answer: George C. Scott - Which crime film won Best Picture at the 1973 ceremony?
Answer: The Godfather - Who declined his Best Actor Oscar for The Godfather?
Answer: Marlon Brando - Who appeared at the 1973 ceremony on Brando's behalf?
Answer: Sacheen Littlefeather - Which 1975 film became the second to sweep the five major categories?
Answer: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Who won Best Actress for Network at the 1977 ceremony?
Answer: Faye Dunaway - Which boxing drama won Best Picture at the 1977 ceremony?
Answer: Rocky - Which 1981 sports drama won Best Picture at the 1982 ceremony?
Answer: Chariots of Fire - Who became the first Black performer to win Best Actor at the 1964 ceremony?
Answer: Sidney Poitier - For which film did Poitier win?
Answer: Lilies of the Field - Which 1987 war drama won Best Picture at the 1988 ceremony?
Answer: The Last Emperor
The 1990s and 2000s on the Red Carpet
Blockbusters, indies, and sweeping epics all found room in the winner's envelope.
- Which thriller won Best Picture at the 1992 ceremony?
Answer: The Silence of the Lambs - Who won Best Actress for The Silence of the Lambs?
Answer: Jodie Foster - Which 1993 western won Best Picture at the 1994 ceremony?
Answer: Unforgiven - Which film won Best Picture at the 1995 ceremony?
Answer: Forrest Gump - Which 1997 film won 11 Oscars at the 1998 ceremony?
Answer: Titanic - Who directed Titanic?
Answer: James Cameron - Which 1998 romantic comedy won Best Picture at the 1999 ceremony?
Answer: Shakespeare in Love - Which 1999 film won Best Picture at the 2000 ceremony?
Answer: American Beauty - Who became the first Black woman to win Best Actress at the 2002 ceremony?
Answer: Halle Berry - For which film did Halle Berry win?
Answer: Monster's Ball - Which fantasy film won all 11 categories in which it was nominated at the 2004 ceremony?
Answer: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Which 2005 film won Best Picture at the 2006 ceremony?
Answer: Crash - Which film made Martin Scorsese a Best Director winner at the 2007 ceremony?
Answer: The Departed - Which 2008 film won Best Picture at the 2009 ceremony?
Answer: Slumdog Millionaire - Which war drama won Best Picture at the 2010 ceremony?
Answer: The Hurt Locker
Oscar Winners from 2011 Through 2025
This round dates each answer by ceremony year, including the newest winners covered in this guide.
- Which film won Best Picture at the 2011 ceremony?
Answer: The King's Speech - Which film won Best Picture at the 2012 ceremony?
Answer: The Artist - Which thriller won Best Picture at the 2013 ceremony?
Answer: Argo - Which film won Best Picture at the 2014 ceremony?
Answer: 12 Years a Slave - Which film won Best Picture at the 2015 ceremony?
Answer: Birdman - Which film won Best Picture at the 2016 ceremony?
Answer: Spotlight - Which film was correctly named Best Picture after an envelope mix-up at the 2017 ceremony?
Answer: Moonlight - Which film won Best Picture at the 2018 ceremony?
Answer: The Shape of Water - Which film won Best Picture at the 2019 ceremony?
Answer: Green Book - Which South Korean film won Best Picture at the 2020 ceremony?
Answer: Parasite - Which film won Best Picture at the 2021 ceremony?
Answer: Nomadland - Which film won Best Picture at the 2022 ceremony?
Answer: CODA - Which film won Best Picture at the 2023 ceremony?
Answer: Everything Everywhere All at Once - Which film won Best Picture at the 2024 ceremony?
Answer: Oppenheimer - Which film won Best Picture at the 2025 ceremony?
Answer: Anora
Actors, Actresses, and Historic Performances
These performances made history for age, identity, language, or a very crowded trophy shelf.
- Who holds the record for most acting Oscars, with four wins?
Answer: Katharine Hepburn - Which actor won three Best Actor Oscars first?
Answer: Daniel Day-Lewis - Who was the first person to win an acting Oscar for a non-English-language performance?
Answer: Sophia Loren - For which film did Sophia Loren win?
Answer: Two Women - Who became the first Asian woman to win Best Actress at the 2023 ceremony?
Answer: Michelle Yeoh - Who became the first deaf male acting winner at the 2022 ceremony?
Answer: Troy Kotsur - Who became the first deaf performer to win an acting Oscar in 1987?
Answer: Marlee Matlin - Who is the youngest competitive acting winner, honored at age 10?
Answer: Tatum O'Neal - For which film did Tatum O'Neal win?
Answer: Paper Moon - Who became the oldest acting winner at age 83 in 2021?
Answer: Anthony Hopkins - For which film did Hopkins earn that 2021 win?
Answer: The Father - Who holds the record for most acting nominations, with 21 through 2025?
Answer: Meryl Streep - Which actor won Best Actor for The Pianist at age 29?
Answer: Adrien Brody - Who became the first Latina acting winner at the 1962 ceremony?
Answer: Rita Moreno - Who became the first Muslim actor to win an acting Oscar at the 2017 ceremony?
Answer: Mahershala Ali
Categories, Crafts, and Oscar Firsts
The Academy honors far more than acting, so give the writers, designers, composers, and animators their close-up.
- Which category recognizes a screenplay written directly for the screen?
Answer: Best Original Screenplay - Which category honors scripts adapted from earlier material?
Answer: Best Adapted Screenplay - What category was first presented at the 2002 ceremony?
Answer: Best Animated Feature - Which film won the first Best Animated Feature Oscar?
Answer: Shrek - What category replaced Best Makeup in 2013?
Answer: Best Makeup and Hairstyling - Which award honors the overall recorded sound work on a film since the sound categories merged in 2021?
Answer: Best Sound - Which category recognizes a movie's visual look through lighting and camera work?
Answer: Best Cinematography - Which category honors the arrangement and selection of shots?
Answer: Best Film Editing - What category honors garments created for a film?
Answer: Best Costume Design - Which music category recognizes a song written for a film?
Answer: Best Original Song - Which music category recognizes a film's original instrumental score?
Answer: Best Original Score - What is the maximum running time for a film to qualify as a short film under Academy rules?
Answer: 40 minutes, including credits - Which category recognizes nonfiction feature-length movies?
Answer: Best Documentary Feature Film - Which category was renamed Best International Feature Film for the 2020 ceremony?
Answer: Best Foreign Language Film - Which country submits a film for International Feature consideration rather than an individual filmmaker?
Answer: The submitting country
Records, Hosts, and Unforgettable Oscar Moments
Finish with ties, streaks, hosts, and the ceremony moments that immediately became trivia-night material.
- Which three films share the record of 11 Oscar wins?
Answer: Ben-Hur, Titanic, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Which three films share the record of 14 nominations?
Answer: All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land - Who holds the record for most competitive Oscars won by an individual?
Answer: Walt Disney - How many competitive Oscars did Walt Disney win?
Answer: 22 - Which director holds the record with four Best Director wins?
Answer: John Ford - Which film became the first non-English-language Best Picture winner in 2020?
Answer: Parasite - Who directed Parasite?
Answer: Bong Joon Ho - Which Best Picture winner was the first produced by a streaming service?
Answer: CODA - Which performer hosted the Oscars a record 18 times?
Answer: Bob Hope - Who became the first woman to host the Oscars alone in 1994?
Answer: Whoopi Goldberg - Which 2014 host organized the star-filled selfie that spread across social media?
Answer: Ellen DeGeneres - Which two presenters announced La La Land before correcting the 2017 Best Picture winner?
Answer: Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway - Which 1974 ceremony streaker appeared behind presenter David Niven?
Answer: Robert Opel - Which composer has the most Oscar nominations among living people through 2025?
Answer: John Williams - Which comic-book villain was played in Oscar-winning performances by Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix?
Answer: The Joker
Keep the game going with movie trivia, Barbie trivia, Pixar trivia, and Lord of the Rings trivia.
Sources and Further Reading
- Academy Awards official ceremonies database
- Academy Awards official awards database
- Academy Awards rules and eligibility
- Academy Museum: The Oscars statuette
- Academy Awards: Oscars records
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