This 2000s movie trivia quiz has 70 free questions with answers and covers the films released between 2000 and 2009, from Gladiator and Memento at the start of the decade to Avatar and The Hangover at the end. Expect the blockbusters (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man, The Dark Knight, Iron Man), the comedies everyone still quotes (Mean Girls, Anchorman, Napoleon Dynamite, Superbad, Zoolander, Elf), the Pixar and DreamWorks hits, and every Best Picture winner from Gladiator to The Hurt Locker. About a third of the questions are easy for anyone who went to the movies in the 2000s, a third are medium, and the rest dig into casting stories, box-office records and behind-the-scenes details that will separate the film buffs from the casual fans. Every answer has been checked against a primary or encyclopaedic source, and each question links to the page that confirms it.
30 of 70 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which 2000 film won Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe as the general-turned-slave Maximus?
Gladiator
Oliver Reed, who played the trainer Proximo, died of a heart attack before all his scenes were shot, so the rest were completed with a body double and digital effects.
Q 02In Ridley Scott's 2000 Roman epic, which actor played the emperor Commodus opposite Russell Crowe?
Joaquin Phoenix
Phoenix would win his own Best Actor Oscar two decades later for Joker.
Q 03What condition does Guy Pearce's Leonard suffer from in Christopher Nolan's Memento (2000)?
Anterograde amnesia
The story was based on 'Memento Mori', a short story by Nolan's brother Jonathan.
Q 04In Cast Away (2000), Tom Hanks's character Chuck Noland works as a systems analyst for which company?
FedEx
Production paused for a year so Hanks could lose the 50 pounds he had gained and grow out his hair and beard.
Q 05Which company made the volleyball that is Chuck Noland's companion in Cast Away, giving it its name?
Wilson
Screenwriter William Broyles Jr. invented the character after deliberately stranding himself for research.
Q 06Which 2001 film was the first ever winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature?
Shrek
Chris Farley had recorded nearly all of Shrek's dialogue before his death, after which Mike Myers took over.
Q 07Shrek is loosely based on a 1990 children's picture book by which author and illustrator?
William Steig
Steig was 83 when the book came out; he was also a long-time New Yorker cartoonist.
Q 08Which actor voiced the villain Lord Farquaad in Shrek?
John Lithgow
Farquaad's tiny stature was a running gag; Fiona's dragon eventually swallows him whole.
Q 09Which Home Alone filmmaker directed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)?
Chris Columbus
Richard Harris only agreed to play Dumbledore after his granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again if he turned it down.
Q 10Which word replaced 'Philosopher's' in the American title of the first Harry Potter film?
Sorcerer's
It was the highest-grossing film of 2001 and has passed $1 billion with re-releases.
Q 11In Zoolander, Mugatu brainwashes Derek into assassinating the prime minister of which country?
Malaysia
Malaysia's government banned the film; Will Ferrell played Mugatu and Owen Wilson the rival model Hansel.
Q 12Which American actress drew controversy for being cast as the "quintessentially British" Bridget Jones?
Renée Zellweger
Her accent won critics over and she was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar.
Q 13Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002) was the first film to gross how much in a single weekend?
$100 million
Its rain-soaked upside-down kiss won Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards.
Q 21The Bride's yellow tracksuit in Kill Bill: Volume 1 pays homage to which 1972 Bruce Lee film?
Game of Death
Kill Bill was shot as one film and only split in two when the cut ran over four hours.
Q 22In School of Rock (2003), Dewey Finn poses as a substitute teacher at which prep school?
Horace Green
Screenwriter Mike White wrote the part for Black, his real-life neighbour at the time.
Q 23In Elf (2003), Buddy's love interest Jovie works at which New York department store?
Gimbels
Buddy got his name from the brand label on his diaper when he crawled into Santa's sack as a baby.
Q 14Which actor played Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, in Spider-Man (2002)?
Willem Dafoe
Dafoe insisted on wearing the uncomfortable Goblin suit himself rather than leaving it to a stunt double.
Q 15The Ring (2002), starring Naomi Watts, was an American remake of a horror film from which country?
Japan
Both were based on Koji Suzuki's 1991 novel; the cursed videotape gives you seven days.
Q 16Which 1959 chariot-racing epic shares the record of 11 Oscar wins with Titanic and The Return of the King?
Ben-Hur
It was also the first fantasy film ever to win Best Picture.
Q 17Peter Jackson filmed and edited the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy in which country?
New Zealand
Return of the King grossed $1.1 billion, making it the highest-grossing film of 2003.
Q 18Johnny Depp said he based his Captain Jack Sparrow performance on which rock star?
Keith Richards
Richards later appeared in the sequels as Jack's father, Captain Teague.
Q 19In Finding Nemo (2003), what species of fish are Marlin and his son Nemo?
Clownfish
It became the highest-grossing animated film to that point and was the first Pixar film to win Best Animated Feature.
Q 20Which comedian and talk-show host voiced the forgetful fish Dory in Finding Nemo?
Ellen DeGeneres
Director Andrew Stanton wrote the part after hearing her change subjects five times in one sentence on her sitcom.
Q 24Which Rosalind Wiseman parenting book was Tina Fey's Mean Girls (2004) based on?
Queen Bees and Wannabes
October 3 became 'Mean Girls Day' online because of a throwaway line Cady says about the date.
Q 25In Mean Girls, what is the Plastics' scrapbook of insults about classmates and teachers called?
The Burn Book
Cady, played by Lindsay Lohan, had spent the previous twelve years being home-schooled in Africa.
Q 26Napoleon Dynamite (2004) is set in Preston, in which US state?
Idaho
Jon Heder was paid $1,000 for the lead role in a film with a $400,000 budget; he renegotiated after it became a hit.
Q 27How much was Jon Heder originally paid for starring in Napoleon Dynamite?
$1,000
Director Jared Hess filled the cast with friends from school to stay within his tiny budget.
Q 28Anchorman (2004) is set in 1975 at KVWN Channel 4, a TV station in which city?
San Diego
It was Adam McKay's directorial debut; Ron's dog Baxter gets punted off the San Diego–Coronado Bridge.
Q 29In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, what is the memory-erasing firm called?
Lacuna
The title is a line from Alexander Pope's 1717 poem 'Eloisa to Abelard'.
Q 30The Passion of the Christ (2004) is entirely in Latin, Hebrew and which other language?
Aramaic
It stayed the highest-grossing R-rated film in the US and Canada for 20 years.