This Greatest Showman trivia quiz has 60 free questions with answers and covers the 2017 movie musical from every angle: the cast (Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Keala Settle), the songs Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote, the awards run for This Is Me, the soundtrack's record-breaking stay at number one in the UK, the Reimagined covers album, the film's slow-burn box office legs, and the stage adaptation and sequel talk that followed. Because the film is famously loose with history, the last third of the quiz turns to the real P. T. Barnum: his American Museum, the Feejee Mermaid, General Tom Thumb, Jenny Lind's actual tour, and what the film changed. Early questions suit anyone who has seen the movie once; later ones are for people who own the soundtrack and the Blu-ray extras. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia and its cited sources before publishing, and no lyrics appear anywhere in the quiz.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Who directed The Greatest Showman?
Michael Gracey
It was his feature debut after a career in visual effects, music videos and Christmas commercials in the UK and US.
Q 02In which year was The Greatest Showman released in US cinemas?
2017
It opened on December 20, 2017, twelve days after a premiere held on board an ocean liner docked in New York.
Q 03Which actor plays Phillip Carlyle, the playwright who becomes Barnum's partner?
Zac Efron
The character is entirely fictional; he entered negotiations for the part in June 2016, three years after the songs were commissioned.
Q 04Which actress plays Charity, Barnum's wife?
Michelle Williams
She sings two numbers on the soundtrack and said she modelled the character's sunny disposition on a classic Hollywood star.
Q 05Zendaya's character, Anne Wheeler, performs which circus act?
Trapeze
Anne is one of the two invented lead characters; her romance with Phillip Carlyle plays out at a time when interracial relationships were taboo.
Q 06Who plays the opera singer Jenny Lind?
Rebecca Ferguson
Her singing was dubbed; the vocalist had been recording demos for the project since 2014.
Q 07Who provides Jenny Lind's singing voice in the film?
Loren Allred
Her big ballad from the film gave her a Billboard Hot 100 debut and went double platinum in the US, UK and Canada.
Q 08Which songwriting duo wrote all of the film's original songs?
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
The studio hired them in 2013, the year before their Broadway breakthrough Dear Evan Hansen began previews.
Q 09Which song from the film won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song?
This Is Me
It also earned an Academy Award nomination and a Grammy nomination for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
Q 10At the 90th Academy Awards, the film's nominated song lost Best Original Song to a track from which film?
Coco
Pixar's Remember Me took the Oscar; the same song also beat it at the Critics' Choice Awards.
Q 11Which Broadway performer plays the bearded lady Lettie Lutz?
Keala Settle
She earned a Tony nomination for Hands on a Hardbody and originated Becky in Waitress before her breakout film role.
Q 12What was the film's production budget?
$84M
Deadline estimated the film would turn a profit of $50-100 million after a slow start at the box office.
Q 13Where was the film's December 2017 world premiere held?
Aboard the liner Queen Mary 2
The Cunard liner was docked in New York for the occasion.
Q 21The film opened fourth at the US box office. Which film was number one that weekend?
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Jumanji and Pitch Perfect 3 also finished ahead of it; it took a modest $9 million over the three-day weekend.
Q 22What grade did audiences polled by CinemaScore give the film?
A
Critics were far cooler, with a 56% Rotten Tomatoes score, but PostTrak found a 70% definite recommend.
Q 23Which studio distributed The Greatest Showman?
20th Century Fox
Disney's later purchase of the studio is why the film landed on Disney+ in August 2020.
Q 14The film was pushed back a full year from Christmas 2016 to avoid which rival musical?
La La Land
It ended up opening on December 20, 2017, five days earlier than its rescheduled Christmas slot.
Q 15During which song did Hugh Jackman defy doctor's orders and sing at the 2016 Greatest Showman read-through?
From Now On
The moment brought the read-through to an emotional end and got the film greenlit; a Broadway singer had been drafted in to sing his part.
Q 16Which Broadway performer sang Barnum's part at The Greatest Showman read-through while Jackman acted?
Jeremy Jordan
He had already recorded demos for the film in 2015 and was originally there to sing Phillip Carlyle's part.
Q 17Who choreographed The Greatest Showman?
Ashley Wallen
Mathieu Leopold served as circus coordinator and Shannon Holtzapffel also choreographed; Holtzapffel later fronted a home-video dance tutorial campaign.
Q 18Rehearsals began in October 2016 in which location?
New York City
Principal photography followed on November 22, 2016, after Jackman had spent ten weeks in preparation.
Q 19How many years did The Greatest Showman take to develop?
7
The project was first announced in 2009 as The Greatest Showman on Earth, with Jackman already attached to the title role.
Q 20By roughly what percentage did the film's gross rise in its second US weekend, a record for a 3,000-plus-theater run?
76%
It went from $9 million to $15.5 million and kept holding, eventually becoming the 14th-highest-grossing film never to reach number one at the US box office.
Q 24Which Logan director was reportedly brought onto The Greatest Showman as an executive producer in post-production?
James Mangold
There were eight producers on the film; the director said it was amazing to have one of them be a filmmaker.
Q 25Being taller than the real Tom Thumb, what did Sam Humphrey do to play Charles Stratton?
Walk on his knees
His voice was also digitally deepened; the New Zealand-born actor made his screen debut on Neighbours.
Q 26Zendaya has said this film's press tour was the first time she deliberately did what on a red carpet?
Method dressing
The practice means matching outfits to a film's themes or characters; she has since become its most-cited exponent.
Q 27The film's director went on to make Better Man, a biopic of which singer?
Robbie Williams
Before directing, he cut his teeth working with Baz Luhrmann on visual scrapbooks for Moulin Rouge!
Q 28A stage adaptation of the film opened in spring 2026 in which UK city?
Bristol
It is Disney Theatrical's first stage adaptation of a film from the Fox library, with five new songs added to the score.
Q 29A sequel was announced in 2019 but stalled after Disney ended its distribution deal with which production company?
Chernin Entertainment
Jackman had been confirmed to return, and in 2022 he said he was still keen if the two companies could agree terms.
Q 30How many original songs by the songwriting duo feature in the film?
9
The soundtrack runs to 11 tracks because two of the songs get reprises.