50 free Moulin Rouge trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
40 free Moulin Rouge trivia questions with answers. Moulin Rouge! (2001) mashed up Elton John, Nirvana and Puccini into a Bollywood-flavoured Paris of 1899 and became one of the most loved musicals of its era. This Moulin Rouge trivia quiz covers the film in depth: Satine, Christian, Zidler and the Duke, Spectacular Spectacular, the songs Baz Luhrmann borrowed and the one he wrote, the Oscars, the Cannes premiere and Nicole Kidman's broken ribs. It also covers the Broadway musical that swept the Tonys, the 1952 John Huston film about Toulouse-Lautrec, and the real Moulin Rouge in Pigalle, from its 1889 opening and the birth of the can-can to La Goulue, Jane Avril and the fire that destroyed the original. It suits a movie musical night, a theatre-lovers' quiz or a Paris-themed party. Every answer is checked against Wikipedia and cited on the question, so you can see where each fact comes from.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Moulin Rouge! is the final film in Baz Luhrmann's Red Curtain Trilogy. What are the other two?
Strictly Ballroom and Romeo + Juliet
Luhrmann's 1993 Sydney Opera House production of La bohème was a key source for the plot.
Q 02In which year is the main story of the film set?
1899
The framing device has Christian typing the story in 1900, a year after Satine's death.
Q 03What is the name of the play the Bohemians are writing when Christian meets them?
Spectacular Spectacular
The tune of Offenbach's can-can, the Galop Infernal, is used for its theme.
Q 04Whom does Satine mistake Christian for on the night they meet?
The Duke
The Duke of Monroth is the investor Zidler hopes will turn the club into a theatre.
Q 05In the Bohemians' improvised story for the Duke, a courtesan falls for a poor musician playing what instrument?
A sitar
The Duke later demands the ending be changed so the courtesan marries the maharaja.
Q 06What fatal illness is Satine diagnosed with?
Consumption
Consumption is the old name for tuberculosis, the same disease that kills Mimì in La bohème.
Q 07Which dancer saves Satine from the Duke's attempt to rape her?
Le Chocolat
It is Nini, the can-can dancer, who tips the Duke off that the play mirrors real life.
Q 08Who cries from the rafters that 'the greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return'?
The painter Toulouse-Lautrec
The line comes from Nat King Cole's 'Nature Boy', which opens the film in David Bowie's version.
Q 09How much time passes between Satine's death and Christian finishing their story?
Six months
By then the cabaret has closed and fallen into disrepair.
Q 10Which real can-can dancer was the character of Satine based on?
Jane Avril
Avril was nicknamed La Mélinite after an explosive because of her jerky, contorting style.
Q 11The proprietor character in the film shares his surname with whom?
A co-founder of the real Moulin Rouge
Charles Zidler opened the cabaret with Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Olympia.
Q 12Which star of Luhrmann's previous film auditioned unsuccessfully for Christian?
Leonardo DiCaprio
Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal were also considered before Ewan McGregor won the part.
Q 13Which rock star auditioned for Satine and approved the use of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' in the film?
Courtney Love
The Nirvana song turns up in the Zidler-led 'Because We Can' medley.
Q 21'Lady Marmalade' was originally a 1974 number one for which group?
Labelle
All Saints also took a cover to UK number one in 1998.
Q 22Which Bollywood song, from the film China Gate, is sampled in the 'Hindi Sad Diamonds' number?
Chamma Chamma
Luhrmann's love of Bollywood began on a research trip to India for a production of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Q 23Which Queen song is arranged in operatic style for Zidler and Satine near the end?
The Show Must Go On
Bowie's version of 'Nature Boy' and T. Rex's 'Children of the Revolution' also feature.
Q 14Where was Moulin Rouge! filmed?
Fox Studios in Sydney
Filming ran from November 1999 to May 2000.
Q 15What injury did Nicole Kidman suffer twice while being lifted in the dance sequences?
Broken ribs
She also tore knee cartilage in a fall during 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend', which forced her out of Panic Room.
Q 16Which two acts refused to let Luhrmann use their songs in the film?
The Rolling Stones and Cat Stevens
'Nature Boy' replaced Stevens's 'Father and Son', which he withheld on religious grounds.
Q 17The Police's 'Roxanne' is performed in the film in what musical style?
A tango
'El Tango de Roxanne' is sung by the Argentinean, Christian and the Duke.
Q 18Which Elton John number does Christian sing to Satine, with Alessandro Safina adding Italian lyrics?
Your Song
Entertainment Weekly called the film 'an aesthetically arresting ode to poetry, passion, and Elton John'.
Q 19'Come What May' was ineligible for the Oscar because it had been written for which earlier Luhrmann film?
Romeo + Juliet
It was written by David Baerwald and Kevin Gilbert and lost the Golden Globe to Sting's 'Until'.
Q 20Which four singers recorded the film's hit cover of 'Lady Marmalade'?
Christina Aguilera, Pink, Mýa and Lil' Kim
Labelle's 1974 original spent a week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Q 24At which festival did Moulin Rouge! premiere as the opening film in May 2001?
Cannes
It competed for the Palme d'Or and opened in Australia later that month.
Q 25How much did Moulin Rouge! gross worldwide, against a $50M budget?
$179M
The UK alone contributed $26 million.
Q 26How many Academy Award nominations did Moulin Rouge! receive?
Eight
It was the first musical nominated for Best Picture since Beauty and the Beast a decade earlier.
Q 27Which two Oscars did the film win?
Production Design and Costume Design
Both went to Luhrmann's wife and collaborator Catherine Martin's teams.
Q 28Which Oscar host quipped the film 'just directed itself' when Baz Luhrmann missed the Best Director shortlist?
Whoopi Goldberg
The film tied with The Fellowship of the Ring for a leading twelve BAFTA nominations.
Q 29Jim Broadbent won a BAFTA for playing which character?
Harold Zidler
The same year he won an Oscar for Iris.
Q 30How many Golden Globes did the film win, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy?
Three
It tied A Beautiful Mind with six nominations.