50 free Rain Man trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Rain Man trivia quiz covers the 1988 Best Picture winner from the top: the plot (Charlie's Lamborghinis, the $3 million estate, the rosebushes and the Buick, why Raymond refuses to fly, blackjack at Caesars Palace), the cast (who was first pictured as Raymond, which actors turned it down, which director walked away to make an Indiana Jones film), and the making of it (nine weeks in Cincinnati, a shoot during the writers' strike, Hans Zimmer's score). It then looks at the man who inspired Raymond, Kim Peek, and how Barry Morrow's Oscar became 'the most loved statuette', at the four Academy Awards and Golden Bear the film won, at its box-office record for 1988, and at the legacy: airline edits, the card-counting myth, the West End stage version, and the sale of Hoffman's Buick. Questions run from easy (who plays Charlie) to expert (the auction price of the Buick). Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries before publishing.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Who plays Charlie Babbitt?
Tom Cruise
Agents originally pictured Hoffman in Charlie's role, with Bill Murray as Raymond.
Q 02Who plays Raymond Babbitt?
Dustin Hoffman
He spent a year preparing and thanked three men in his Oscar speech.
Q 03Who directed Rain Man?
Barry Levinson
Spielberg had been attached for five months before leaving to make Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Q 04Which real-life savant inspired the character of Raymond?
Kim Peek
Writer Barry Morrow met him in Arlington, Texas, in 1984.
Q 05What is Charlie's business at the start of the film?
Importing grey-market Lamborghinis
The EPA has impounded four cars for failing emissions tests, and his buyers want their deposits back.
Q 06To which city does Charlie travel to settle his father's estate?
Cincinnati
Nine weeks of filming took place there and across Northern Kentucky.
Q 07What does Charlie inherit from his father, apart from some rosebushes?
A 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible
The rest of the $3 million estate goes to a trustee for Raymond's care.
Q 08Roughly how large is Sanford Babbitt's estate?
$3 million
Charlie later turns down $250,000 to walk away from Raymond.
Q 09Who plays Charlie's girlfriend Susanna?
Valeria Golino
Bonnie Hunt plays the waitress Sally Dibbs.
Q 10What is the name of Raymond's doctor at the institution?
Dr. Gerald Bruner
He refuses Charlie's demand for half the estate and later offers him $250,000.
Q 11Why do the brothers drive to Los Angeles instead of flying?
Raymond refuses to fly
He recites airline crash statistics, and considers only Qantas safe.
Q 12Which TV show must Raymond watch every day?
The People's Court
His routines also include being in bed by 11 p.m. and never travelling in the rain.
Q 13Why does Raymond object to travelling on the Interstate?
They encounter a car accident
That, plus no travel in the rain, is why the trip takes so long.
Q 21Which comic actor did agents originally envision as Raymond, with Hoffman as Charlie?
Bill Murray
CAA sent the script to both men with those roles in mind.
Q 22Which film did Steven Spielberg leave Rain Man to direct?
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
He later regretted the decision.
Q 23Which actor turned down the role of Raymond?
Mel Gibson
Mickey Rourke was offered a part too and also said no.
Which earlier Barry Morrow TV movie about his disabled friend fed into Raymond's character?
Q 14Where does the name 'Rain Man' come from?
Charlie's childhood way of saying 'Raymond'
Charlie had remembered the Rain Man as an imaginary friend.
Q 15Why was Raymond sent to the institution as a child?
His father blamed him for nearly scalding baby Charlie
In fact Raymond had saved the infant Charlie from hot bathwater but could not explain himself.
Q 16Which Las Vegas casino do the brothers hit for blackjack?
Caesars Palace
They win $86,000 counting cards before the bosses ask them to leave.
Q 17How much does Charlie win in Las Vegas?
$86,000
It covers the debts left when his Lamborghinis are repossessed.
Q 18How much does Dr. Bruner offer Charlie to walk away from Raymond?
$250,000
Charlie refuses, saying he now wants a relationship with his brother, not the money.
Q 19How does the film end?
Raymond boards a train back to the institution
Charlie promises to visit in two weeks; an alternative ending was dropped by writer Barry Morrow.
Q 20Which real pair of brothers were considered for the two lead roles?
Dennis and Randy Quaid
Mel Gibson and Mickey Rourke were also offered roles and declined.
Bill
Morrow drew on his own friendship with Sackter for the Charlie-Raymond bond.
Q 25Where did Hoffman work when younger, giving him experience with disabled people before the role?
The New York Psychiatric Institute
He also observed and mimicked Kim Peek before deciding Raymond should be autistic as well as savant.
Q 26Which industry walkout was under way during almost all of the filming?
The 1988 Writers Guild strike
Co-writer Ronald Bass delivered his last draft hours before it began and never visited the set.
Q 27Who composed the film's score?
Hans Zimmer
It earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score.
Q 28Which band's version of 'Iko Iko' from the soundtrack was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award?
The Belle Stars
The soundtrack mixed pop songs with Zimmer's synthesizer score.
Q 29Which top prize did Rain Man win at the 1989 Berlin International Film Festival?
The Golden Bear
It went on to win four Oscars from eight nominations.
Q 30How many Academy Awards did Rain Man win?
Four
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay.