This National Treasure trivia quiz has 50 free questions with answers and covers the Disney treasure-hunt franchise: the 2004 original, the 2007 sequel Book of Secrets and the 2022 Disney+ series Edge of History. It takes in Benjamin Franklin Gates and the cast that plays around him, the map on the back of the Declaration of Independence, the Silence Dogood letters and Trinity Church, the Resolute desks and the President's Book of Secrets, the lost city of Cibola and Mount Rushmore, and the running jokes about Riley never getting his finder's fee. Early questions are for anyone who has seen the first film once. Later ones reward fans who can quote the ciphers and the clues. Use it for a family movie night, a history-class treat or a trivia round. Every answer has been checked against a documented source shown under the explanation.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which actor plays treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates in National Treasure?
Nicolas Cage
He won a Best Actor Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas nine years earlier.
Q 02In the first film, a treasure map is said to be hidden on the back of which document?
The Declaration of Independence
The treasure is a vast hoard passed from the Knights Templar to the Founding Fathers and Freemasons.
Q 03Which studio released National Treasure in 2004?
Walt Disney Pictures
It was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Jon Turteltaub.
Q 04Who directed both National Treasure and its sequel?
Jon Turteltaub
Jerry Bruckheimer produced both.
Q 05What is the name of Ben's wisecracking computer-expert sidekick?
Riley Poole
He is played by Justin Bartha in every film and the TV series.
Q 06What is the profession of Abigail Chase, played by Diane Kruger?
National Archives archivist
Ben has to obtain her fingerprints to reach the Declaration.
Q 07The wealthy Englishman who first finances Ben's expedition, then turns villain, is named what?
Ian Howe
He is played by Sean Bean.
Q 08The first clue leads the team to the Charlotte, which turns out to be what?
A ship found in the Arctic
Its engravings point to the map on the Declaration.
Q 09To read the invisible map on the Declaration, Ben needs a pair of special spectacles hidden where?
In a brick at Independence Hall
The multi-lens glasses are recovered from the bell tower.
Q 10A key clue in the first film comes from which set of writings by Benjamin Franklin?
The Silence Dogood letters
Ben's father Patrick had donated the originals to the Franklin Institute.
Q 11The treasure map trail finally leads to an underground chamber beneath which New York landmark?
Trinity Church
The passage first appears to end at a dead end lit by a single lantern.
Q 12At the end of the first film, Ben turns down what, to Riley's annoyance?
A 10% finder's fee
Ben and Abigail begin a relationship instead.
Q 13About how much did National Treasure gross worldwide?
$347 million
It got mixed reviews but did well enough to spawn a sequel.
The DVD of the first film hid a special feature called what for viewers to solve?
Q 21According to the sequel, which president had Mount Rushmore carved partly to hide a legendary site?
Calvin Coolidge
He is said to have commissioned Gutzon Borglum, the monument's real sculptor.
Q 22Which Oscar-winning actress plays Ben's mother, Emily Appleton, in the sequel?
Helen Mirren
Jon Voight returns as Ben's father Patrick.
Q 23The black-market villain of Book of Secrets, played by Ed Harris, is named what?
Mitch Wilkinson
He produces a lost diary page implicating the Gates ancestor.
A Bonus Treasure Hunt
Watching the special features unlocked codes and puzzles.
Q 15In what year was the National Treasure sequel released?
2007
It grossed $459 million, more than the original.
Q 16Book of Secrets opens with a plot to clear a Gates ancestor accused of helping to kill which president?
Abraham Lincoln
John Wilkes Booth had sought out cryptographer Thomas Gates to decode a message.
Q 17The coded message in Booth's diary uses which type of encryption?
A Playfair cipher
Thomas Gates recognises it and tears the pages out to burn them.
Q 18In Book of Secrets, the map points to which legendary lost city of gold?
Cibola
It turns out to be hidden beneath Mount Rushmore.
Q 19Clues in Book of Secrets are hidden in twin pieces of furniture known as what?
The Resolute desks
One is in Buckingham Palace and one in the Oval Office.
Q 20To obtain the secret Presidential book, Ben does what at a birthday party at Mount Vernon?
Kidnaps the President
The President later warns Ben the act will be seen as attempted kidnapping.
Q 24On which streaming service did the 2022 National Treasure spinoff series premiere?
Disney+
It is titled Edge of History.
Q 25The lead of Edge of History is Jess Valenzuela, a young woman living in which city?
Baton Rouge
She learns her late father was part of a secret network of treasure protectors.
Q 26Which two-time Oscar nominee plays the apparent antagonist in Edge of History?
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Justin Bartha returns as Riley Poole and Harvey Keitel reprises his film role at the start.
Q 27In the first film, Ben ultimately decides to protect the Declaration by doing what?
Stealing it himself before Ian can
He takes it from the Archives during a gala event.
Q 28In National Treasure, the treasure passed from ancient times to the Founding Fathers via which order?
The Knights Templar
The Freemasons are said to have inherited and hidden it.
Q 29As a boy in 1974, Ben first hears the treasure legend from whom?
His grandfather
His father Patrick is skeptical of the family obsession for much of the first film.
Q 30The actor who plays Ben Gates was born into which famous filmmaking family?
The Coppolas
Francis Ford Coppola is his uncle; he changed his surname to avoid accusations of nepotism.