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48 free Uncut Gems trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Uncut Gems trivia quiz covers the whole of Josh and Benny Safdie's 2019 thriller, from the black opal pulled out of an Ethiopian mine to the security doors that trap Arno and his goons while the Celtics game plays out. There are questions on the plot (the ring, the stopped bet, the Passover dinner, the auction, the helicopter to Mohegan Sun), the cast (Adam Sandler, LaKeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, Idina Menzel, Kevin Garnett as himself), and the people you only hear, from Tilda Swinton to Doc Rivers. The second half digs into how the film got made: the decade Sandler spent turning it down, Jonah Hill's brief casting, the NBA stars who nearly played Garnett's part, the 35 mm cinematography, Daniel Lopatin's score, and the box office numbers that made it A24's biggest domestic hit until Everything Everywhere All at Once. Easy questions are for anyone who has seen it once; the expert ones are for people who have watched the auction scene through their fingers more than they'd admit. Every answer was checked against the film's Wikipedia article and its cited sources before publishing, so you can settle arguments with confidence.
30 of 48 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which brothers directed Uncut Gems?
Josh and Benny Safdie
The Safdies had been developing a movie about Manhattan's jewelers since 2009, drawing on their father's years as a diamond salesman.
Q 02What is the name of the jeweler Adam Sandler plays?
Howard Ratner
Howard is a jeweler and gambling addict trying to turn one rare stone into a way out of his debts.
Q 03What kind of gemstone drives the plot of Uncut Gems?
A black opal
The stone is a black opal, dug from an African mine in the film's 2010 prologue; Howard believes it could fetch over a million dollars at auction.
Q 04Which real NBA star plays a fictionalized version of himself in Uncut Gems?
Kevin Garnett
Garnett was cast in September 2018 after several active players fell through, and his performance was praised as one of the best ever by an athlete.
Q 05In what part of New York City is Howard's jewelry store located?
The Diamond District
Howard's store sits in Manhattan's Diamond District on West 47th Street, the block where the Safdies' father worked as a diamond salesman and which they had wanted to film since 2009.
Q 06Which studio distributed Uncut Gems in United States theaters?
A24
A24 handled the domestic release while Netflix took the international rights and streamed it abroad from January 2020.
Q 07Which musician plays himself hosting a nightclub party in the film?
The Weeknd
The Weeknd plays a younger, arrogant version of himself performing at a Manhattan club, where Howard catches him with Julia; the singer asked the Safdies to portray him as an egotistical punk.
Q 08Which actress made her feature-film debut as Howard's employee and mistress?
Julia Fox
Roughly 300 actresses auditioned for the part, and it became Fox's breakthrough role, earning a Gotham Award nomination.
Q 09Which Broadway star plays Howard's wife, Dinah?
Idina Menzel
Menzel joined the project in autumn 2018 alongside Eric Bogosian and Judd Hirsch.
Q 10Who plays Demany, the associate who brings clients into Howard's store?
LaKeith Stanfield
LaKeith Stanfield plays Demany, the hustler who brings Kevin Garnett into Howard's store on the very day the opal arrives and brokers the loan of the stone.
Q 11What does Garnett leave with Howard as collateral when he borrows the opal?
His championship ring
Garnett leaves his 2008 Celtics championship ring; Howard immediately pawns the ring to fund a six-way parlay on that night's Celtics game.
Q 12How is Arno related to Howard?
Brother-in-law
Arno is Howard's brother-in-law, family by marriage, which is why he turns up at Ratner family gatherings while his goons chase Howard's debt; Eric Bogosian plays him.
Q 13From which country is the opal smuggled at the start of the film?
Ethiopia
The opal comes from the Welo mining region of Ethiopia; the 2010 prologue shows miners digging it out before it is smuggled to Howard in New York.
Q 21Where does Julia go to place Howard's final bet?
Mohegan Sun casino
She gets there by helicopter while Howard keeps Arno and the goons locked between the security doors back at the store.
Q 22How much does Howard win on the final parlay?
$1.2 million
The three-way parlay on Garnett and the Celtics pays about $1.2 million; Julia collects the winnings at the casino, but Howard is shot dead back at the store moments after celebrating.
Q 23Who shoots Howard at the end of the film?
Phil
Phil then shoots Arno too when he protests, and loots the store with Nico as Julia leaves the casino.
Q 14What is the name of Howard's jewelry store?
KMH
The store is KMH, and its double security doors become the film's final trap when Howard locks Arno and his goons between them to watch the Celtics game.
Q 15How much money does Howard owe Arno at the start of the film?
$100,000
Howard owes Arno $100,000, and Arno stops the winning parlay because the stake was made with money that was already owed to him.
Q 16Where do Arno's goons ambush Howard, strip him naked and lock him in his own car trunk?
At his daughter's school play
The goons grab Howard at his daughter's school play, strip him and lock him in his car trunk in the parking lot; he has to call Dinah to let him out.
Q 17Which Jewish holiday dinner does Howard sit through with his family during the film?
Passover
The family gathers for the Passover seder; Dinah has agreed to divorce Howard after Passover, and at the seder she rejects his plea for another chance.
Q 18How much would Howard's first big parlay have paid out before Arno stopped the bet?
$600,000
The six-way parlay would have paid about $600,000; Arno reveals he had it cancelled because Howard placed it with money he already owed him.
Q 19How much does Garnett offer to pay for the opal before the auction?
$175,000
Garnett offers $175,000, which Howard refuses because he believes the opal is worth over a million; the auction house then appraises it far lower than his estimate.
Q 20Whom does Howard recruit to bid at the auction to drive up the opal's price?
His father-in-law, Gooey
The plan backfires when Garnett refuses to top Gooey's final bid, leaving the family holding its own stone.
Q 24Who composed the score for Uncut Gems?
Daniel Lopatin
Daniel Lopatin, the electronic musician who records as Oneohtrix Point Never, composed the film's synth-driven score, which was released on Warp Records.
Q 25Which legendary director served as an executive producer on Uncut Gems?
Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese came aboard as executive producer, and the Safdies said his name on the project finally made actors take the script seriously.
Q 26Which actor was cast as Howard in 2017 before dropping out to direct Mid90s?
Jonah Hill
The Safdies had tried rewriting Howard younger for him; Sandler took over in April 2018.
Q 27Which earlier Safdie film convinced Adam Sandler to finally take the role?
Good Time
Seeing Good Time, the Safdies' 2017 Robert Pattinson thriller, persuaded Sandler; his team had passed on the script twice before.
Q 28Which NBA player was the Safdies originally writing the basketball role for?
Kobe Bryant
The Safdies first wrote the part for Kobe Bryant, building the plot around his 61-point game at Madison Square Garden in February 2009, then the arena's scoring record.
Q 29Which then-active NBA player agreed to appear but dropped out when filming moved into the season?
Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid had agreed to play the basketball star, but the shoot slid into the NBA season, so the Safdies turned to retired players and landed on Kevin Garnett.
Q 30Who was the cinematographer on Uncut Gems?
Darius Khondji
Darius Khondji, the cinematographer of Se7en and Delicatessen, shot Uncut Gems largely on 35 mm film with anamorphic lenses, aiming for a gaudy, claustrophobic look.