Can You Score 20/20? Guess the Movie From the Opening Scene Ultimate Challenge Quiz

Answers Below – No Peeking!

Test your film knowledge with these 20 iconic opening scenes from legendary movies across genres. Can you identify the film just from the first moments? Questions ramp up from easy to expert level – grab a pen and dive in!

20 Trivia Questions on Guess the Movie From the Opening Scene

Question 1: The film opens with a young woman skinny-dipping at night off a crowded beach, only to be brutally attacked by an unseen force?

A. The Shallows (2016)
B. Deep Blue Sea (1999)
C. 47 Metres Down (2017)
D. Jaws (1975)

Question 2: An aerial shot glides over a sunlit Phoenix, Arizona, before entering a hotel window to reveal a woman packing stolen cash?

A. Vertigo (1958)
B. Rear Window (1954)
C. Psycho (1960)
D. North by Northwest (1959)

Question 3: A yellow Volkswagen Beetle snakes through vast, snowy Colorado mountains towards an isolated hotel?

A. Misery (1990)
B. Doctor Sleep (2019)
C. Pet Sematary (1989)
D. The Shining (1980)

Question 4: A massive Star Destroyer pursues a small blockade runner through space as the opening crawl scrolls upward?

A. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
B. Return of the Jedi (1983)
C. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
D. Rogue One (2016)

Question 5: A rugged adventurer in a fedora navigates booby-trapped ruins to snatch a golden idol before a boulder chase?

A. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
B. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
C. The Last Crusade (1989)
D. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Question 6: Soldiers storm Omaha Beach in graphic D-Day chaos, with bullets ripping through water and men?

A. Band of Brothers (2001)
B. The Longest Day (1962)
C. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
D. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Question 7: A man dives headfirst into a grimy public toilet, swimming through filth to retrieve pills?

A. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
B. Trainspotting (1996)
C. Irreversible (2002)
D. Enter the Void (2009)

Question 8: Two armed robbers banter in a diner about tipping before deciding to hold it up?

A. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
B. Pulp Fiction (1994)
C. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
D. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Question 9: A mysterious woman in a vinyl catsuit leaps across rooftops, dodging cops and agents in a rain-soaked city?

A. Underworld (2003)
B. Blade (1998)
C. The Matrix (1999)
D. Equilibrium (2002)

Question 10: A car speeds down a highway at night as voiceover recalls, “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster”?

A. Casino (1995)
B. The Irishman (2019)
C. Goodfellas (1990)
D. Donnie Brasco (1997)

Question 11: A teenage girl alone at home answers a taunting phone call from a masked killer outside?

A. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
B. Urban Legend (1998)
C. Scream (1996)
D. The Faculty (1998)

Question 12: Guests mingle at an opulent outdoor wedding while the patriarch receives supplicants inside?

A. The Godfather Part II (1974)
B. The Godfather (1972)
C. Goodfellas (1990)
D. Casino (1995)

Question 13: A man sits with a gun barrel in his mouth as an IKEA catalogue flutters down in slow motion?

A. Se7en (1995)
B. Fight Club (1999)
C. American Psycho (2000)
D. The Machinist (2004)

Question 14: Police discover a bloated, fly-covered corpse strapped to a bed in a decrepit apartment?

A. Silence of the Lambs (1991)
B. Se7en (1995)
C. Copycat (1995)
D. Kiss the Girls (1997)

Question 15: A disoriented man washes up on a dreamlike beach fortress and meets a dying elderly figure?

A. Shutter Island (2010)
B. Inception (2010)
C. The Prestige (2006)
D. Memento (2000)

Question 16: A stoic killer is pulled over by police, then executes the deputy with a captive bolt pistol?

A. Hell or High Water (2016)
B. No Country for Old Men (2007)
C. Sicario (2015)
D. Wind River (2017)

Question 17: A lone prospector hammers away at an oil well in the desolate early 1900s desert?

A. There Will Be Blood (2007)
B. The Revenant (2015)
C. Gold (2016)
D. 1917 (2019)

Question 18: A poignant montage shows an elderly man and his wife growing old together, from adventure dreams to her funeral?

A. Up (2009)
B. Toy Story 3 (2010)
C. Finding Nemo (2003)
D. Coco (2017)

Question 19: A solitary trash-compacting robot roams a garbage-choked, abandoned Earth, following a mysterious red boot?

A. WALL-E (2008)
B. Toy Story (1995)
C. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
D. Ratatouille (2007)

Question 20: Majestic African sunrise as animals gather on Pride Rock for the presentation of a newborn cub to the kingdom?

A. The Lion King (1994)
B. Madagascar (2005)
C. The Jungle Book (2016)
D. Brother Bear (2003)

Answers

  1. D. Jaws (1975) – The iconic opener features Chrissie Watkins attacked by the great white shark while swimming nude at night. The distractors involve sharks but open differently (e.g., The Shallows starts on a beach with a surfer).
  2. C. Psycho (1960) – It begins with a pan over Phoenix into Marion Crane’s hotel room mid-tryst with cash stolen from her boss. Other Hitchcock films have city shots but different premises.
  3. D. The Shining (1980) – Jack Torrance’s family drives the VW through the Rockies to the Overlook Hotel. The others are horror but lack this exact scenic drive opener.
  4. C. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) – The crawl introduces the galaxy conflict as the Tantive IV flees Vader’s Star Destroyer. Sequels lack the crawl or ship chase start.
  5. B. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – Indy’s temple raid with the idol and boulder sets the action tone. Later films open with different adventures.
  6. C. Saving Private Ryan (1998) – The harrowing 27-minute Omaha landing sequence redefined war openings. Others depict D-Day but not with this intensity.
  7. B. Trainspotting (1996) – Renton’s hallucinatory toilet dive captures heroin withdrawal vividly. Distractors have drug themes but no toilet plunge.
  8. B. Pulp Fiction (1994) – Pumpkin and Honey Bunny’s diner chat foreshadows the nonlinear plot. Reservoir Dogs opens in a coffee shop pre-heist.
  9. C. The Matrix (1999) – Trinity’s gravity-defying escape introduces the simulated world. Others feature action heroines but not this rooftop ballet.
  10. C. Goodfellas (1990) – Henry Hill’s narration begins mid-crime with Billy Batts in the trunk. Other mob films use voiceover but different scenes.
  11. C. Scream (1996) – Casey Becker’s prank call turns deadly, subverting slasher tropes. Imitators followed but this started it.
  12. B. The Godfather (1972) – Don Corleone’s daughter’s wedding allows “requests” amid festivities. Part II flashes back differently.
  13. B. Fight Club (1999) – The narrator’s insomnia and gun-in-mouth flash-forward hook the audience. Se7en opens with credits, not this.
  14. B. Se7en (1995) – The Gluttony victim’s gruesome discovery launches the sin-themed murders. Others start with chases or profiles.
  15. B. Inception (2010) – Cobb interrogates on the collapsing beach dream level. Nolan’s others use puzzles but not this limbo opener.
  16. B. No Country for Old Men (2007) – Chigurh’s roadside killing with the pneumo-gun establishes his menace. Distractors open with heists or hunts.
  17. A. There Will Be Blood (2007) – Daniel Plainview’s solitary gusher strike in 1898 sets his ruthless arc. Others involve survival but no oil rig.
  18. A. Up (2009) – Carl and Ellie’s wordless life montage tugs heartstrings before the adventure. Pixar sequels/prequels open differently.
  19. A. WALL-E (2008) – 700 years post-humanity, WALL-E’s lonely routine amid trash introduces eco-themes. Others start in toy worlds.
  20. A. The Lion King (1994) – “Circle of Life” accompanies Rafiki lifting Simba at dawn. Remakes/competitors lack this savanna birth rite.

How did you do? Share your score in the comments and challenge friends to beat it – which opening was the toughest?