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''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by Chris Columbus, and written and produced by
John Hughes John Hughes may refer to: Arts and Entertainment Literature *John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet *John Hughes (1790–1857), English author *John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet *John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...
. The first film in the ''Home Alone'' franchise, the film stars
Macaulay Culkin Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin (born Macaulay Carson Culkin; ) is an American actor and musician. Considered one of the most successful child actors of the 1990s, Culkin has received a Golden Globe Award nomination and other accolades. In 200 ...
as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year old boy who defends his
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
home from a
home invasion A home invasion, also called a hot prowl burglary, is a sub-type of burglary (or in some jurisdictions, a separately defined crime) in which an offender unlawfully enters into a building residence while the occupants are inside. The overarching i ...
by a pair of robbers after his family accidentally leave him behind on their
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
vacation to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. The cast also features
Joe Pesci Joseph Frank Pesci ( , ; born February 9, 1943) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for portraying tough, volatile characters, in a variety of genres, and for his collaborations with his best friend, Robert De Niro in the films ' ...
, Daniel Stern, John Heard, and
Catherine O'Hara Catherine Anne O'Hara (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian and American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She started her career in sketch comedy, sketch and improvisational comedy in film and television before expanding her career taking dra ...
. Hughes conceived ''Home Alone'' while on vacation, with
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
being originally intended to finance and distribute the film. However, Warner Bros. shut down the production after it exceeded its assigned budget.
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
assumed responsibilities following meetings with Hughes. Columbus and Culkin were hired soon afterwards. Filming took place between February and May 1990 on location across
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. ''Home Alone'' had a
sneak preview A film screening is the displaying of a motion picture or film, generally referring to a special showing as part of a film's production and release cycle. To show the film to best advantage, special screenings may take place in plush, low seat-cou ...
across 1,000 theaters on November 10, 1990, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 16. While the film's reception was initially mixed, in later years reception has been generally positive, with praise for its cast, humor, and music. ''Home Alone'' grossed $476.7 million worldwide, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1990. It made Culkin a child star, and was the highest-grossing live-action comedy for two decades. It was nominated for two
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
and two
Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...
. ''Home Alone'' has since been considered one of the best Christmas films. In 2023, ''Home Alone'' was selected for preservation in the
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
by the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". A sequel, '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'', was released in 1992.


Plot

The McCallister family prepares to spend
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
in Paris, gathering at Kate and Peter's home in a Chicago
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
on the night before their departure. Kate and Peter's youngest son Kevin is ridiculed by his siblings and cousins due to his immaturity. Kevin inadvertently ruins the family dinner after a scuffle with his oldest brother Buzz, resulting in Kate sending him up to the attic. Frustrated with Kate for allowing the rest of the family to pick on him, Kevin wishes that his family would disappear. During the night, heavy winds create a power outage, disabling the alarm clocks and causing the family to oversleep. In the confusion and rush to get to the airport, Kevin is accidentally left behind. Kevin wakes to find the house empty and the family cars still in the garage, unaware that they had rented vans to take them to the airport. Thinking that his wish has come true, he is overjoyed with his newfound freedom. Later, Kevin becomes frightened by his eccentric next-door neighbor, "Old Man" Marley, rumored to be a serial killer nicknamed the "South-Bend Shovel Slayer" who murdered his own family. The McCallister home is soon stalked by the "Wet Bandits", Harry and Marv, a pair of burglars who have been breaking into other vacant houses in the neighborhood. Kevin tricks them into thinking that his family is still home, forcing them to postpone their plans to rob the McCallister house. Kate realizes mid-flight that Kevin was left behind, and upon arrival in Paris, the family discovers that all flights for the next two days are booked, and that the phone lines are still down back home in Chicago. Peter and the rest of the family stay at his brother Rob's apartment in Paris while Kate stays at the airport. Unable to book a flight to Chicago, Kate convinces a couple to trade tickets with her. When she eventually arrives in the US, she meets Gus Polinski, the lead member of a traveling
polka Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the ...
band, who offers to let her travel with them to Chicago in a
moving van A moving company, also known as a removalist or van line, is a company that specializes in assisting individuals and businesses with relocating their goods from one location to another. Moving companies may offer additional or all-inclusive ...
on the way to
Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
. On
Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...
, Harry and Marv finally realize that only Kevin is in the McCallister home, and Kevin overhears them discussing plans to break into the house that night. He starts to miss his family and asks the local
Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...
impersonator if he could bring them back for Christmas. Kevin attends a church choir performance, eventually re-encountering Marley, who proves the rumors about himself to be false. Marley points out his granddaughter in the choir and mentions he has never met her since she is the daughter of his estranged son. Kevin suggests he try to reconcile with his son. Kevin returns home and rigs the house with handmade
booby trap A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or an animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap may b ...
s. Harry and Marv break in, spring the traps, and suffer various injuries. Kevin calls the police and lures the duo into a vacant neighboring house that they had previously broken into. Harry and Marv ambush Kevin and prepare to get their revenge, but Marley intervenes and knocks them out with his snow shovel. The police arrive and arrest Harry and Marv, having identified all the houses that they broke into due to Marv's habit of flooding them. On Christmas Day, Kevin is initially disappointed to find that his family is still gone. However, Kate arrives home and they reconcile. The rest of the family then returns after waiting in Paris for a direct flight to Chicago. Kevin keeps silent about his encounter with Harry and Marv, although Peter finds Harry's knocked-out gold tooth. Kevin then happily watches Marley reuniting with his family.


Cast

Credits adapted from
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
.


Production


Development

Writer and producer
John Hughes John Hughes may refer to: Arts and Entertainment Literature *John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet *John Hughes (1790–1857), English author *John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet *John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...
conceived ''Home Alone'' while preparing to go on vacation. He said: "I was going away on vacation, and making a list of everything I didn't want to forget. I thought, 'Well, I'd better not forget my kids.' Then I thought, 'What if I left my 10-year-old son at home? What would he do? Hughes wrote eight pages of notes that developed into the screenplay. Imagining that children are naturally most scared of robbers, Hughes also worked that aspect into the plot of the film. ''Home Alone'' was initially set to be financed and distributed by
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
Hughes promised that he could make the movie for less than $10 million, considerably less than most feature film production budgets of that era. Concerned that the film might exceed that amount, Hughes met secretly with
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
before production to see if they would fund the project if Warner Bros. proved inflexible. According to executive producer Scott Rosenfelt, a copy of the script was "clandestinely" delivered to Fox, bypassing the legal restrictions that would have otherwise prevented Fox from seeing it until the project was in turnaround. Early in production, the budget grew to $14.7 million. Warner Bros. demanded that it be cut by $1.2 million; the producers responded with a memo arguing that the budget could not be cut any further. Unconvinced, Warner Bros. shut down production the next day, but it quickly resumed when Fox took up Hughes on his offer. The final budget grew to $18 million. Hughes had asked
Patrick Read Johnson Patrick Read Johnson (born May 7, 1962) is an American filmmaker, special effects artist and screenwriter. Born in Wadsworth, Illinois, Wadsworth, Illinois, he is best known for his directorial work on the films ''Spaced Invaders'', ''Angus (film ...
to direct, but he was committed to directing ''
Spaced Invaders ''Spaced Invaders'' is a 1990 American science fiction comedy directed by Patrick Read Johnson and starring Douglas Barr, Royal Dano, and Ariana Richards. The film's title is a pun on the classic video game ''Space Invaders''. Plot The space ...
'' (1990). He turned to Chris Columbus, who had left ''
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation ''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' is a 1989 American Christmas slapstick comedy film and the third installment in ''National Lampoon'' magazine's ''Vacation'' film series. ''Christmas Vacation'' was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, wr ...
'' (1989) before shooting started because of a personality clash with starring actor
Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...
, who Columbus said treated him "like dirt". Hughes gave him the scripts for both ''Home Alone'' and ''
Reach the Rock ''Reach the Rock'' is a 1998 American comedy drama film directed by William Ryan and starring William Sadler and Alessandro Nivola, and was the final film to be written and produced by John Hughes. Premise A small-town troublemaker (Alessandro ...
'' (1998); Columbus chose to direct ''Home Alone'', as he found it funnier and liked the Christmas theme. Columbus did an uncredited rewrite of the script; among his contributions was the character of Old Man Marley, which he created to give the story a more serious layer, as well as a more emotional, happier ending.


Casting

Hughes suggested to Columbus that they cast
Macaulay Culkin Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin (born Macaulay Carson Culkin; ) is an American actor and musician. Considered one of the most successful child actors of the 1990s, Culkin has received a Golden Globe Award nomination and other accolades. In 200 ...
as Kevin, because of his experience while shooting ''
Uncle Buck ''Uncle Buck'' is a 1989 American comedy film written and directed by John Hughes. It stars John Candy and Amy Madigan with Jean Louisa Kelly, Laurie Metcalf, Jay Underwood, Macaulay Culkin, Gaby Hoffmann, Elaine Bromka, and Garrett M. B ...
'' (1989). Columbus met with 200 other actors for the part, as he felt it was his "directorial responsibility".
John Mulaney John Edmund Mulaney (born August 26, 1982) is an American Stand up comedian, stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Mulaney first rose to prominence for his work as a writer for the NBC sketch comedy ...
was asked to audition for the role of Kevin after being scouted in a children's
sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...
group, but his parents refused the opportunity. Columbus finally met with Culkin and agreed he was the right choice. After
Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...
and
Jon Lovitz Jonathan Michael Lovitz ( ; born July 21, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1990 for which he was nominated for two Pr ...
turned down the role of Harry,
Joe Pesci Joseph Frank Pesci ( , ; born February 9, 1943) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for portraying tough, volatile characters, in a variety of genres, and for his collaborations with his best friend, Robert De Niro in the films ' ...
accepted it. The role of Uncle Frank was written for
Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained fame for his role as the psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984–1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993–2004, and again F ...
, but was given to
Gerry Bamman Gerald G. Bamman (born September 18, 1941) is an American actor and playwright. He is best known for playing Uncle Frank in the films '' Home Alone'' (1990) and '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' (1992), and has also guest starred in several tel ...
when Grammer was unavailable. Daniel Stern was cast as Marv, but before shooting started, he was told that the production schedule had been extended from six weeks to eight. He dropped out after as he would not be paid more for the extended schedule.
Daniel Roebuck Daniel James Roebuck (born March 4, 1963) is an American actor and writer. In film, he is known for his roles as Deputy Marshal Robert Biggs in ''The Fugitive'' (1993) and its spin-off ''U.S. Marshals'' (1998), as well as Mr. Banks in '' Agent ...
was hired to replace him, but after two days of rehearsal, Columbus felt he was lacking chemistry with Pesci and brought back Stern. Roebuck later said that, although he was upset to be fired from the production, he now believed the experience was "a little blip of unimportance".
Chris Farley Christopher Crosby Farley (February 15, 1964 – December 18, 1997) was an American actor and comedian. He was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and later a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' for fiv ...
auditioned for the role of the Santa Claus impersonator, but he failed to impress Columbus.
John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian who is best known for his work in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood films. Candy first rose to national prominence in the 1970s as a member of the Tor ...
was available for only one day to film his scenes, which took 23 hours to shoot. He was paid only $414, since he did the film as a favor to Hughes. In return, he was the only actor Hughes allowed to go off-script; according to Columbus, all his dialogue was improvised.


Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
took place from February 14, 1990, to May 8, 1990, over a course of 83 days on an $18.3 million budget. The house exterior scenes were filmed on location at a three-story single-family house located at 671 Lincoln Avenue in the North Shore village of
Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,475 as of the 2020 census. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the United States in terms of household income. It was ...
, where many of Hughes' previous films had also been shot, but at different houses. The only interiors of the house used for filming that made it to the finished film were the main staircase, attic and most of the first floor landing, while all the other interiors of the house were duplicated on a
sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or te ...
to allow more room for equipment and crew. These sets were built in the then-disused gym of
New Trier High School New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public four-year high school whose main campus for sophomores through seniors is in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, with a campus in Northfield, Illinois, for ...
's west campus, previously used by Hughes for ''Uncle Buck'' and ''
Ferris Bueller's Day Off ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American Teen film, teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughes. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck, with supporting roles from Jenn ...
'', where the production company had already set up its offices. 671 Lincoln Avenue later became a tourist attraction. The tree house in the backyard was built specifically for the film and dismantled after filming ended. Kevin runs away from his third encounter with Marley in Hubbard Woods Park in Winnetka. In addition, the scene where Kevin wades in his neighbor's flooded basement was shot at the empty swimming pool of the aforementioned campus of New Trier High School, with the
American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long-range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 1971 ...
first class cabin interiors done on the basketball courts. The church exteriors were shot at Trinity United Methodist Church in
Wilmette, Illinois Wilmette is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Skokie, Northfield, Glenview, and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a populatio ...
, while the interiors were shot at Grace Episcopal Church in
Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, adjacent to Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 26th-most populous municipality in Illinois, with a population of 54,318 as of the 2020 census. Oak Park was first se ...
. Filming also took place over four sixteen-hour days at
O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...
, which served for both itself and
Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (, ) is one of two international airports serving Paris, France, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris. It serves as a sec ...
in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. John Candy filmed his cameo appearance for the film over the course of one day at
Meigs Field Merrill C. Meigs Field Airport (pronounced , formerly ) was a single-runway airport in Chicago, named for newspaper publisher and aviation enthusiast Merrill C. Meigs. It was located on Northerly Island, an artificial peninsula in Lake Michigan, ...
. For the
film within a film A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes ...
, ''Angels with Filthy Souls'' (the title of which parodies the 1938 crime film ''
Angels with Dirty Faces ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' is a 1938 American crime drama film directed by Michael Curtiz for Warner Brothers. It stars James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, The Dead End Kids, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, and George Bancroft. The screenplay was wr ...
''), shooting took only one day, on the final "test day" prior to the official start of principal photography. To create the illusion that the film was an authentic 1940s
gangster film A gangster film or gangster movie is a film belonging to a genre that focuses on gangs and organized crime. It is a subgenre of crime film, that may involve large criminal organizations, or small gangs formed to perform certain illegal acts. The ...
, the scene was filmed on black-and-white negative film, and Johnny's office featured props from that era. Like much of the film, most of the sequence was shot with low, wide angles that, according to journalist Darryn King, "capture the action as if a child were perceiving it". Originally,
Ralph Foody Ralph Wesley Foody (November 13, 1928 – November 21, 1999) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Johnny in ''Home Alone'' (1990) and ''Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' (1992). Early life Foody was born in Chicago, Illi ...
was to play Snakes and Michael Guido was to play Johnny, but since Foody had recently undergone knee replacement surgery, he was unable to do the death scene where Snakes drops to his knees, leading to the roles being switched. Cinematographer
Julio Macat Julio Macat, A.S.C. (born June 20, 1957) is an Argentine-American cinematographer. He is known for serving as cinematographer on the first three instalments of the ''Home Alone'' franchise. Early life Born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, Macat ...
recalled that Pesci was more difficult to work with than Culkin. The older actor believed some of the dialogue was not of a quality commensurate with his acting ability. He also resented the early unit calls, since they prevented him from starting his day with nine holes of golf as he preferred to do. After he took the
assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...
by the collar one day to complain about this, daily call times were moved back from 7 to 9 a.m. to accommodate his rounds. On the other end of the schedule, the crew had limited time to film the many nighttime scenes, since Culkin could not work any later than 10 p.m. due to his age. Pesci said in a 2022 interview with ''
People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
'' of working with Culkin, "I intentionally limited my interactions with him to preserve the dynamic" and made sure not "to come across on the screen that we were in any way friendly" in order to "maintain the integrity of the adversarial relationship". On the set, Pesci and Stern both had difficulty refraining from cursing, which became annoying to Pesci, since Culkin was on set as well. In fact, the only curse words that made it into the film were "shit", accidentally said by Daniel Stern when his shoe fell through the
pet door A pet door or pet flap (also referred to in more specific terms, such as cat flap, cat door, kitty door, dog flap, dog door, or doggy/doggie door) is a small opening to allow pets to enter and exit a building on their own without needing a human t ...
, and "hell", which was said by both Pesci and Stern after their characters encounter one another after going through Kevin's booby traps and by Johnny to the character of Snakes in ''Angels with Filthy Souls''. Pesci's use of "cartoon cursing", or menacing gibberish, garnered comparisons to ''
Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...
'' character
Yosemite Sam Yosemite Sam ( ) is a cartoon character in the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of short films produced by Warner Bros. His name is taken from Yosemite National Park in California. His real name is ''Aloysius Bartholamew Sam''. ...
. The film's stunts also created tension for the crew during shooting. Columbus said, "Every time the stunt guys did one of those stunts it wasn't funny. We'd watch it, and I would just pray that the guys were alive." Stunts were originally prepared with safety harnesses, but because of their visibility on camera, the film's final stunts were performed without them. Troy Brown and Leon Delaney were stuntmen for Pesci and Stern, respectively. An injury had occurred between Pesci and Culkin during one of the rehearsals for the scene in which Harry tries to bite off Kevin's finger; Culkin still has the scar. The
tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,100 species have been identified, with 166 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...
that walks on Stern's face was real.
Senta Moses Senta Michelle Moses (born August 8, 1973) is an American actress. She is most well-known for her co-starring role as Phoebe, the lab assistant/co-host in the children's series '' Beakman's World'' (1996–1997), she also portrayed Winnifred Leed ...
, who played Tracy, recalled in 2020 that one of the most difficult scenes to shoot was the family's run through O'Hare International Airport to catch their flight. While it does not last long, it required several days to film. "There were thousands of extras, all expertly choreographed so none of us would be in danger running at full speed through the American Airlines terminal", she told ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
''. "And we ran at ''full speed''. Sometimes we'd bump into each other, like a multi-car pileup on the expressway, and just crack up laughing ... There were so many setups and narrowly missed moments of disaster, but to my knowledge, no one got hurt."


Music

Columbus initially hoped to have
Bruce Broughton Bruce Harold Broughton (born March 8, 1945) is an American orchestral composer of television, film, and video game scores and concert works. He has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career and has contributed many ...
score the film, and early posters listed him as the composer. However, Broughton was busy with ''
The Rescuers Down Under ''The Rescuers Down Under'' is a 1990 American animated adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to ''The Rescuers'' (1977). In ''The Rescuers Down Under'', Bernard and Bianc ...
'' (1990), and he had to cancel at the last minute. Columbus then jokingly suggested getting
John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
for the film as a replacement but soon considered the idea and was later able to get in touch with
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
, who helped him contact Williams to produce the final score. Traditional Christmas songs, such as "
O Holy Night "O Holy Night" (original title: ) is a sacred song about the night of the birth of Jesus Christ, described in the first verse as "the dear Saviour", and frequently performed as a Christmas carol. Based on the French-language poem ''Minuit, ch ...
" and "
Carol of the Bells "Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol, which is based on the Ukrainian New Year's song " Shchedryk". The music for the carol comes from the song written by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in or before 1916; the English-la ...
", are featured prominently in the film, as well as the film's theme song "Somewhere in My Memory". The soundtrack was released by
Sony Classical Records Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by ...
on cassette on December 4, 1990, and on CD on May 27, 2015.


Release


Theatrical

''Home Alone'' had a sneak preview screening for about 1,000 theaters on November 10, 1990. The advanced screening proved successful, with 5% of the preview audience returning for its official release the following week. Originally scheduled to be released on Thanksgiving weekend, its opening date was brought forward to avoid direct competition with ''
Three Men and a Little Lady ''Three Men and a Little Lady'' is a 1990 American comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino. It is the sequel to the 1987 film '' Three Men and a Baby''. Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson reprise the leading roles. In its opening ...
''. It was given a wide release on November 16, 1990.


Home media

''Home Alone'' was first released by
Fox Video 20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...
on
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
and
LaserDisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...
in the United States on August 22, 1991, their first video to go direct to sell-through rather than to the video rental market first. It sold 11 million copies, generating Fox revenue of $150 million making it, along with ''
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film, science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott Taylor, Elliott, a boy w ...
'', the highest-selling video of all time at that point. Due to the sales, the film did not perform as well in the rental market. It was later released on DVD on October 5, 1999, as a basic package. The film was released on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
on December 2, 2008, titled ''Family Fun Edition'', and was released alongside ''Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' in a collection pack on October 5, 2010. The film was reissued again on DVD and Blu-ray on October 6, 2015, alongside all four of its sequels in a box set titled ''Home Alone: 25th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Christmas Edition''. On September 15, 2020,
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) is the home entertainment distribution arm of the Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, a ...
and
20th Century Home Entertainment 20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...
released ''Home Alone'' on
Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray supports 4K UHD (3840 × 2160 pixel resolution) video at frame rates up to 60 progre ...
in time for its 30th anniversary in the United States.


Reception


Box office

''Home Alone'' grossed $285.8 million in the United States and Canada and $190.9 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $476.7 million, against a production budget of $18 million. In its opening weekend, ''Home Alone'' grossed $17 million from 1,202 theaters, averaging $14,211 per site and just 6% of the final total and added screens over the next six weeks, with a peak screen count of 2,174 during its eighth weekend at the start of January 1991. ''Home Alone'' was the number-one film at the box office for 12 consecutive weeks, from its release weekend of November 16–18, 1990, through the weekend of February 1–3, 1991. It was removed from the top spot when ''
Sleeping with the Enemy ''Sleeping with the Enemy'' is a 1991 American psychological thriller film directed by Joseph Ruben and starring Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin, and Kevin Anderson. The film is based on Nancy Price's 1987 novel of the same name. Roberts pla ...
'' opened with $13 million. It remained in the top ten until the weekend of April 26, well past Easter weekend. It made two more appearances in the top ten (the weekend of May 31 – June 2 and the weekend of June 14–16) before finally falling out of the top ten. After over nine months into its run, the film had earned 16x its debut weekend and ended up making a final gross of $285,761,243, the top-grossing film of its year in North America. The film is listed in the ''
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...
'' as the highest-grossing live-action comedy ever and held the record until it was overtaken by ''
The Hangover Part II ''The Hangover Part II'' is a 2011 American comedy film produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The sequel to the 2009 film ''The Hangover'' and the second installment in ''The Hangover'' trilogy, the film wa ...
'' in 2011. As for the record for being highest-grossing live-action comedy film domestically, it would last until 2023 when ''
Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...
'' surpassed it. By the time the film had run its course in theaters, ''Home Alone'' was the third-highest-grossing film of all time worldwide, as well as in the United States and Canada, behind only ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' ($322 million at the time) and ''
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film, science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott Taylor, Elliott, a boy w ...
'' ($399 million at the time), according to the home video box.
Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray ...
estimates that the film sold over 67.7 million tickets in the United States. It was also the highest-grossing Christmas film until it was surpassed by '' Dr. Seuss' The Grinch'' in 2018. The film made Culkin a child star.


Critical response

Upon release, ''Home Alone'' received mixed reviews from critics. On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, ''Home Alone'' holds an approval rating of 66% based on 116 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Home Alone''s uneven but frequently funny premise stretched unreasonably thin is buoyed by Macaulay Culkin's cute performance and strong supporting stars." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a
weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
score of 63 out of 100 based on nine critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' magazine praised the film for its cast. Jeanne Cooper of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' praised the film for its comedic approach. Hal Hinson, also of ''The Washington Post'', praised Columbus's direction and Culkin's performance. Although Caryn James of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' complained that the film's first half is "flat and unsurprising as its cute little premise suggests", she praised the second half for its slapstick humor. She also praised the dialogue between Kevin and Marley, as well as the film's final scenes.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' gave the film a out of a 4-star rating. He compared the elaborate booby-traps in the film to
Rube Goldberg machine A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction–type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in a comically overcomplicated way. Usually, these machines consist of a s ...
s, writing "they're the kinds of traps that any 8-year-old could devise, if he had a budget of tens of thousands of dollars and the assistance of a crew of movie special effects people" and criticized the plot as "so implausible that it makes it hard for imto really care about the plight of the kid
evin Evin is a neighbourhood in the north of Tehran. The district consists of an old section filled with orchards and gardens of old houses and a new section with high rises and skyscrapers. It is adjacent to Shahid Beheshti University campus. It is ...
. However, he praised Culkin's performance. Owen Gleiberman of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' magazine gave the film a "D" grade, criticizing the film for its "sadistic festival of adult-bashing". Gleiberman said that John Hughes "is pulling our strings as though he'd never learn to do anything else".
Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...
of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' gave the film three out of five and praised Culkin's "vivid screen presence, almost incandescent with confidence". However, he criticized his acting, calling it "a bit broad and mannered". Ali Barclay of the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
wrote, "Culkin walks a fine line between annoyance and endearment throughout the film." He also called ''Home Alone'' "a film which manages to capture some of the best qualities of Christmas". Naomi Barnwell of ''Roobla'' said that "''Home Alone'' has all the ingredients that make for a great kids' film". Adrian Turner of Radio Times called the movie "a celebration of enterprise that captured the heart and wickedness of every child on the planet." According to ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'', " 'Home Alone''s slapstick falls flat and only the pain remains." Peter Rainer of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' criticized the gags, writing they leave "a sour aftertaste". He added "this film plays better as a trailer than as a full-length film" when a trailer lets viewers appreciate those "without having to fight off a lot of unsettling associations". ''Home Alone'' gradually became a Christmas classic. It was praised for its quotable phrases, traps, and main character. Hannah-Rose Yee of ''Stylist'' called the ending "very sweet" and praised the score from John Williams, calling it "fantastic". Christopher Hooton of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' also praised the film, calling the film-within-a-film ''Angels with Filthy Souls'' "a fond footnote in cinema history". Matt Talbot from ''Simcoe.com'' said that the Wet Bandits were "fantastic" and "never otold" on "repeat viewings". Michael Walsh of ''Nerdist'' noted the church scene as "One of the best, most touching scenes
n the film N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
. ''Home Alone'' remains a highly popular Christmas movie in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, when it is played on
Polsat Polsat is a Polish free-to-air television channel that was launched on 5 December 1992 by Zygmunt Solorz-Żak. , it is the most watched television channel in Poland with a market share of 11.30% Polsat belongs to Grupa Polsat Plus ( WSE: CP ...
every Christmas Eve. In 2010, Polsat did not play ''Home Alone'', which caused over 90,000 people to protest on Facebook. In 2016, over 4.44 million Poles tuned in to Polsat to watch ''Home Alone''. Since the 2010s, its TV trailers even include a tagline that acknowledges this popularity: ''"Christmas without him? It's absolutely impossible!"''. The movie is also highly popular in
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, being played by
Pro TV PRO TV (, often stylized as PRO•TV since 2017) is a Romanian free-to-air television network, launched on 1 December 1995 as the fourth private TV channel in the country (after TV SOTI, Antena 1, and the now-defunct, but online Tele7ABC). It is ...
since 1995, except 2021 when the movie was played by Antena 1. In 2014, over 2.7 million Romanians watched the movie on Pro TV.
Julio Macat Julio Macat, A.S.C. (born June 20, 1957) is an Argentine-American cinematographer. He is known for serving as cinematographer on the first three instalments of the ''Home Alone'' franchise. Early life Born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, Macat ...
, the film's cinematographer, considers ''Home Alone'' his favorite film out of all the projects he has shot. It was the favorite film of former U.S. President
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
.


Accolades

At the
12th Youth in Film Awards The 12th Youth in Film Awards ceremony (now known as the Young Artist Awards), presented by the Youth in Film Association, honored outstanding youth performers under the age of 21 in the fields of film, television and music for the 1989-1990 seaso ...
, Macaulay Culkin won Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture. The film was nominated for two
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
s, one for Best Original Score, which was written by
John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
, and the other for
Best Original Song The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best ...
for "Somewhere in My Memory", music by Williams and lyrics by
Leslie Bricusse Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films '' D ...
, but lost to '' Dances with Wolves'' and ''
Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the '' Detroit Mirror'', and was distributed by the Chicago T ...
'' respectively.


Accusations of plagiarism

The 1989 French horror
thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...
''
3615 code Père Noël ''3615 code Père Noël'' (, "3615 code Father Christmas", referring to a Minitel dialing number; also known as ''Deadly Games'', ''Dial Code Santa Claus'', ''Game Over'', and ''Hide and Freak'') is a 1989 French action film, action-horror film wr ...
'', which is about a young boy who is home alone with his elderly grandfather and has to fend off a home invader dressed up as
Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...
, has been noted for its plot similarities to ''Home Alone''. ''3615 code Père Noël'' director René Manzor threatened the producers of ''Home Alone'' with legal action on the grounds of
plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...
, alleging that ''Home Alone'' was a remake of his film. ''3615 code Père Noël'' was not released in the United States during its original theatrical run in January 1990 and did not become widely available there until 2018.


Use in media

The music video for
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
's 1994 song "
Gin and Juice "Gin and Juice" is a song by American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. It was released on January 18, 1994 by Death Row, Interscope and Atlantic, as the second single from his debut album, ''Doggystyle'' (1993). The song was produced by Dr. Dre and con ...
" opens with a gag where, after a teenaged Snoop's parents have left him to watch the house in their absence, he places his hands to his face and yells in the manner of Kevin McCallister in the first film, while a title comes on screen reading "Home Boy Alone". In December 2015, Culkin reprised his role as an adult Kevin McCallister in the inaugural episode of the
Jack Dishel Jack Dishel (born Yevgeny Leonidovich Dishel, ; 24 September 1976) is a Russian-American musician, actor, writer, director, comic and producer. Born in the Soviet Union, he grew up in the US from the age of three. He releases and performs music ...
web series ''DRYVRS'' in which a visibly disturbed McCallister recounts his experiences from the events of the first film and subsequently uses his signature tactics against a gunman. In response, Daniel Stern posted a short video reprising his role as Marv, released in conjunction with Stern's
Reddit AMA r/IAmA is a Reddit#Subreddits, subreddit for question-and-answer interactive interviews termed "AMA" (short for "Ask Me Anything"). AMA interviewees have ranged from various celebrities to everyday people in several lines of work. Founded in Ma ...
, pleading for support from Harry against McCallister's traps. The 2016 Christmas-set horror film ''
Better Watch Out ''Better Watch Out'' (formerly titled ''Safe Neighborhood'') is a 2016 Christmas psychological horror film directed by Chris Peckover, from a script he co-wrote with Zack Kahn. It stars Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller and Ed Oxenbould. The film ...
'' includes a scene where a character who is obsessed with the ''Home Alone'' films demonstrates how, in real life, it would be deadly for someone to be hit in the face with a paint can swung from a distance. The season 13 episode of ''
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', also known colloquially simply as ''Always Sunny'', is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and co-developed by Glenn Howerton for FX (TV channel), FX. It premiered on August 4, 2005, and stars Charl ...
'' "Charlie's Home Alone" is intended to be a direct parody of the first ''Home Alone'' film. In the episode, Charlie Kelly is accidentally forgotten while the rest of "the gang" attend
Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. As a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX from 13 years earlier, the game was between the National Football Conferen ...
. Charlie mistakenly believes he must protect the bar by setting up traps, only for himself to accidentally activate said traps, nearly preventing from performing his Super Bowl "rituals". On December 15, 2018, Culkin made a guest appearance as himself in an episode of ''
Angry Video Game Nerd ''Angry Video Game Nerd'' (''AVGN''; originally known as ''The Angry Nintendo Nerd'') is an American retrogaming review comedy web series starring and created by James Rolfe. The series centers on Rolfe's titular skit character, often simply ...
'' to review multiple video game adaptations of the first two ''Home Alone'' films, as well as a gameplay session of ''The Pagemaster'' with
James Rolfe James D. Rolfe (born July 10, 1980) is an American YouTuber, filmmaker and actor. He is best known for creating and starring in the comedic retrogaming web series, ''Angry Video Game Nerd'' (2004–present). His spin-off projects include review ...
and Mike Matei in the days following that episode's release. On December 19, 2018, Culkin again reprised his role as McCallister in a 60-second advertisement for
Google Assistant Google Assistant is a virtual assistant software application developed by Google that is primarily available on home automation and mobile devices. Based on artificial intelligence, Google Assistant can engage in two-way conversations, unlike ...
titled ''Home Alone Again,'' which parodies the original film. The commercial contains
shot-for-shot remakes Shot-for-shot (or shot-for-shot adaptation, shot-for-shot remake) is a way to describe a visual work based on an existing work that is transferred almost completely identically from the original work without much interpretation. Production use ...
of several scenes from the film in which McCallister uses several of the product's functions. The concluding scene involves a command sequence intended to make the house look active, parodying the original "
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song's 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee's original version had ...
" scene. ''Home Alone'' is prominently referenced in the 2022 action comedy film ''
Violent Night ''Violent Night'' is a 2022 American Christmas action comedy film directed by Tommy Wirkola and written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller. It follows Santa Claus (portrayed by David Harbour) as he fights mercenaries who have taken a wealthy family ...
'', in which Trudy Lightston, a fan of the film, imitates Kevin's fighting tactics against burglars who take her family hostage.


Use in Poland

Films such as ''Home Alone'' and ''
Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart (writer), Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, based on the 1979 novel ''Nothing Lasts Forever (Thorp novel), Nothing Lasts Forever'' by Roderick ...
'' (1988) are very popular at Christmas time in Poland, because they were some of the first Western movies to be released in Poland since the end of
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
rule. However, the Polish premiere of ''Home Alone'' took place not during the Christmas season but on May 22, 1992. Three years later, on Christmas Day 1995, at 20:10 CET on
TVP1 TVP1 (TVP Jeden, ''Telewizja Polska 1'', ''Program Pierwszy Telewizji Polskiej'', ''"Jedynka"'') is the main public television channel of Telewizja Polska, TVP (Telewizja Polska S.A.), Poland's national television broadcaster. It was the first Po ...
, the Polish television premiere of the film took place. Then three times on December 26, 1997, and December 24 and 25, 1999, the film was broadcast on television TVN. In December 2000, 8.9 million Poles were watching ''Home Alone'' on
Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...
; by 2017, about four million people (11.6% of Poland's population) were watching it on Christmas Eve and in 2018 again on the same day the film recorded the highest viewership, with 4.51 million viewers.


Other media


Novelization

''Home Alone'' () was novelized by
Todd Strasser Todd Strasser (born May 5, 1950) is an American writer of more than 140 young-adult and middle grade novels and many short stories and works of non-fiction, some written under the pen names Morton Rhue and T.S. Rue. Biography Strasser was bo ...
and published by Scholastic in 1990 to coincide with the film. On October 6, 2015, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the movie, an illustrated book () by Kim Smith and
Quirk Books Quirk Books is an American independent book publisher based in Philadelphia. History Before 2002, Quirk Books was a creative studio that would pitch novel ideas to other publishers. Quirk Books was founded as a publishing company in 2002 by Da ...
was released.


Sequels and franchise

The film was followed by a commercially successful sequel in 1992, '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'', which brought back most of the first film's cast. Culkin was paid $4.5 million to appear in the sequel, compared to $110,000 for the original. The film within a film, ''Angels with Filthy Souls'', had a sequel in ''Home Alone 2'', ''Angels with Even Filthier Souls''. Both ''Angels'' meta-films featured character actor
Ralph Foody Ralph Wesley Foody (November 13, 1928 – November 21, 1999) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Johnny in ''Home Alone'' (1990) and ''Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' (1992). Early life Foody was born in Chicago, Illi ...
as stereotypical 1930s mobster Johnny. A third film, ''
Home Alone 3 ''Home Alone 3'' is a 1997 American crime comedy film directed by Raja Gosnell in his directorial debut, and written and produced by John Hughes. A standalone sequel to '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' (1992), it is the third installment ...
'', was released in 1997; it has entirely different actors and characters as well as a different storyline, with Hughes writing the screenplay. A
television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
followed in 2002: '' Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House''. The movie features some of the same characters who were in the first two films, but with a new cast and a storyline. The fifth film, '' The Holiday Heist'', premiered during
ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...
's Countdown to
25 Days of Christmas Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas is an American annual seasonal event of Christmas programming broadcast during the month of December by the U.S. cable network Freeform. The event was first held in 1996, and has been an annual fixture of the chan ...
programming event on November 25, 2012. Similarly to the third film, it does not focus on the McCallister family. Chris Columbus later revealed that there had been discussions on a sequel starring Kevin's son: "This was talked about maybe 10 years ago I don't know, we were just having fun with it and we said, 'What if Kevin is an adult and he has a kid?' But it was still Pesci and Stern Pesci and Stern are still obsessed with this kid. They're going to get this kid." Another idea that was once discussed involved an adult Kevin attempting revenge on Harry and Marv, who have reformed in the years since they last met. The studio declined to make the film despite Columbus & Culkin's interest in the idea. A sixth film was released digitally on
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
on November 12, 2021, titled ''
Home Sweet Home Alone ''Home Sweet Home Alone'' is a 2021 American List of Christmas films, Christmas comedy film directed by Dan Mazer and written by Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell. A standalone sequel to ''Home Alone: The Holiday Heist'' (2012), it is the sixth ins ...
''.
Devin Ratray Devin D. Ratray (born January 11, 1977) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, making his film debut in '' Where Are the Children?'' (1986) before a main role as Gus Stafford on the CBS sitcom '' Heartland'' (1989). Ratray h ...
, who played Buzz McCallister in the first two films, reprised his role in the film.


See also

*
List of films featuring home invasions There is a body of films that feature home invasions. Paula Marantz Cohen says, "Such films reflect an increased fear of the erosion of distinctions between private and public space... These films also reflect a sense that the outside world is mo ...
, a plot device in thriller films that ''Home Alone'' lampoons *
List of films featuring fictional films A body of films feature fictional films as part of their narrative. These are also called films within films. List of films See also *Story within a story References Further reading * * External links * * *{{cite news , last=Rapold , firs ...
*
List of Christmas films Many Christmas stories have been Christmas film, adapted to feature films and TV specials, and have been broadcast and repeated many times on television. Since the popularization of home video in the 1980s, these films are sold and re-sold every ...
* ''Home Alone'' (video game)


References


External links

* * {{Portal bar, United States, Film, Comedy, Holidays, 1990s Home Alone (franchise) 1990 films 1990 children's films 1990s American films 1990s children's comedy films 1990s Christmas comedy films 1990 crime comedy films 1990s English-language films 20th Century Fox films American children's comedy films American Christmas comedy films American crime comedy films American slapstick comedy films Compositions by Leslie Bricusse English-language Christmas comedy films English-language crime comedy films Films about burglary Films about home invasion Films about mother–son relationships Films about vacationing Films directed by Chris Columbus (filmmaker) Films involved in plagiarism controversies Films produced by John Hughes (filmmaker) Films scored by John Williams Films set in 1991 Films set in Chicago Films set in Illinois Films set in Paris Films set in Pennsylvania Films shot in Chicago Films shot in Illinois Films with screenplays by John Hughes (filmmaker) Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award–winning films United States National Film Registry films