''Home Alone: The Holiday Heist'' (also known as ''Home Alone 5'') is a 2012 American

made-for-television 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 ...

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 Peter Hewitt. A standalone sequel to ''

Home Alone 4 ''Home Alone 4'' (also known as ''Home Alone: Taking Back the House'') is a 2002 American made-for-television Christmas family comedy film directed by Rod Daniel, which first aired on ABC on November 3, 2002, as the first episode of the forty-s ...

'' (2002), it is the fifth installment in the ''Home Alone'' franchise. It stars Christian Martyn,

Jodelle Ferland Jodelle Micah Ferland (born October 9, 1994) is a Canadian actress. She debuted as a child actress at the age of six in the television film ''Mermaid'' (2000) for which she won a Young Artist Award and received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination, ...

Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is an English actor. He first became known for portraying Mick Travis in Lindsay Anderson's ''if....'' (1968), a role he later reprised in ''O Lucky Man!'' (1973) and ''Britannia Hospital ...

Debi Mazar Debi Mazar Corcos (; born August 13, 1964) is an American actress and television personality. She began her career with supporting roles in '' Goodfellas'' (1990), '' Little Man Tate'' (1991), '' Singles'' (1992), and '' Batman Forever'' (1995), ...

, and

Eddie Steeples Eddie Steeples (born November 25, 1973) is an American actor known for his roles as the "Rubberband Man" in an advertising campaign for OfficeMax, Cal in '' Would You Rather'', as Darnell Turner on the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl,'' and Eddie on ...

. The film premiered on

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 ...

on November 25, 2012, during the network's annual ''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 block. It is the second film, after ''

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 ...

'', not to focus on the McCallister family.

Plot

The Baxter family move from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Rockland, Maine Rockland is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Maine, United States. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the town population was 6,936. The city is a popular tourist destination. It is a departure point for the Maine S ...

and settle into their new house during the Christmas season. 10-year-old Finn Baxter (Christian Martyn) and his older sister Alexis (

) are technophiles who isolate themselves from their parents Curtis (Doug Murray) and Catherine (

Ellie Harvie Elinor Anne Harvie (born April 7, 1965) is a Canadian actress who portrayed Morticia on '' The New Addams Family''. Later, she starred as Dr. Lindsey Novak in ''Stargate SG-1'' and ''Stargate Atlantis''. Early life and career Harvie was the you ...

) and the outside world. Finn is often playing video games and Alexis is often on her phone and computer. Encouraged by his dad to socialize, Finn befriends his neighbor Mason (

Peter DaCunha Peter DaCunha is a Portuguese-Canadian actor best known for his roles as Mason in '' Home Alone: The Holiday Heist'' (2012), Remi Vogel in Bruce McDonald's thriller film '' Hellions'' (2015) and Tyler in the acclaimed Atom Egoyan drama ''Remember ...

) who informs him about the legend of a smothered gangster whose ghost haunts the Baxters' new home, leaving Finn paranoid. While the family leaves their home to go Christmas shopping, a group of thieves consisting of Sinclair (

), Jessica (

), and their new safecracker Hughes (

) carry out their plan to break in and steal an old, long lost

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( ; ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His 1893 work ''The Scream'' has become one of Western art's most acclaimed images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dread of inher ...

painting valued at $85 million, unaware the house is occupied. They are unable to locate the painting in the basement safe. As the Baxters return home, the thieves quickly flee. At night, Curtis and Catherine leave for a Christmas party hosted by Catherine's new boss, Mr. Carson (

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor. He is most notable for portraying Lou Grant on the sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977) and drama '' Lou Grant'' (1977–1982), making him one of the few ...

). Finn and Alexis stay behind due to their petty behavior, Finn is not permitted to play video games and Alexis can only use her phone for emergency calls. That night, the thieves plan to return, thinking the house will be clear. Sinclair confides in Jessica and Hughes that the painting they seek is ''The Widow'', a portrait of his great-grandmother and her family that was stolen decades ago. Meanwhile, Finn adventures in the house and finds a spare controller. Searching for new batteries, he accidentally drops one into the basement. Finn has Alexis accompany him to retrieve it and they find the safe unlocked and a secret room behind it, which houses the painting Sinclair is looking for. Frightened by the portrait, Finn flees and Alexis accidentally triggers a trap and becomes locked in the room. As an ongoing snowstorm worsens, Curtis and Catherine are forced to stay at the Christmas party, worrying about their kids at home. With Alexis locked behind the safe, Finn goes shopping for supplies at a hardware store to break her out, only being able to afford string. After stumbling across Sinclair, he overhears the trio discuss plans to break into his house. Rushing home, Finn tells his online friend Simon (

Bill Turnbull William Robert Jolyon Turnbull (25 January 1956 – 31 August 2022) was a British television and radio presenter and journalist whose broadcasting career spanned over 4 decades. He began his career working for some radio stations including Radi ...

) about the situation. Finn sets up numerous booby traps around the house. The thieves are forced to go through the booby traps, being injured as they do so, with the glamorous Jessica getting covered in tar. Soon enough, Curtis and Catherine are able to drive home. Using Finn's

gamertag The Xbox network, formerly known and commonly referred to as Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Gaming for the Xbox brand. It was first made available to the original ...

and his parents' credit card details, a concerned Simon contacts them to warn about the danger their kids are in, but they suspect him and call the police on him instead. Back at the house, Sinclair, Jessica, and Hughes capture Finn and detain him in their SUV. Sinclair and Hughes go to open the safe. Mason, however, saves Finn by throwing snowballs at the leather-clad Jessica, who is now very disheveled. She is eventually knocked out by the snowballs. Meanwhile, Sinclair and Hughes gain entry to the safe, finding the painting and Alexis, who threatens to destroy it. Finn flees and frees Alexis while triggering the trap that locks the duo in the basement, which is seen on Simon's television by the police officers who detained him. With Mason having encased Jessica up to her neck within a headless snowman, the police arrive to arrest the intruders. The family receives four museum passes and $30,000 as a reward for capturing the fugitives and recovering the painting. As an apology, Finn's parents send Simon a plane ticket to return home and spend Christmas with his family. On Christmas Day, Finn receives a snowboard and an

expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion, is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game, collectible card game or Miniature wargaming, miniature wargame. An expansion may introduce new rules ...

to "Robo Infantry 3". Alexis gets a tablet computer, and Finn and his dad get a camping guide. Finn decides to take a break from video games and go snowboarding with Mason, now his best friend. The final scene shows the offenders having their

mug shots A mug shot or mugshot (an informal term for police photograph or booking photograph) is a photographic portrait of a person from the shoulders up, typically taken after a person is placed under arrest. The primary purpose of the mug shot is to ...

taken at the police station as a female police officer splices a copy of the mug shots into a portrait.

Cast

Production

Development

Originally titled ''Home Alone: Alone in the Dark'', development for the film began in March 2012 as a co-production between ABC Family and Fox TV Studios. Both companies also co-produced '' Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House'' in 2002.

Filming

The film was filmed in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Manitoba, Canada.

Release

Home media

The television film was released on DVD on October 29, 2013, in the United States and Canada. It was released in Region 4 on November 12, 2014. In Region 2, the film was released in 2013 but was initially only available on downloads and online streaming and its distribution there remains mainly focused on those formats. On November 2, 2015, the film was released on DVD in the United Kingdom as part of a box set of the first five ''Home Alone'' films exclusively on

Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

. The film grossed $996,000 in home video sales.

Streaming

In November 2020,

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 ...

began to feature the original ''Home Alone''

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...

on their streaming platform service

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 ...

in celebration of the first film's 30th anniversary. The fourth and fifth installments were released on

HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

and were added to Disney+ on December 17, 2021.

Reception

Critical response

''Home Alone: The Holiday Heist'' received mainly negative reviews, although it fared better than the previous installment in the series. Emily Ashby of

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

awarded the film 2 out of 5 stars, writing that although the film was a "predictable slapstick comedy", it "still delivers the laughs".

Sequel

References

External links

* {{ABC Family Original Movies 2010s American films 2010s children's comedy films 2010s Christmas comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s television Christmas films 2012 films 20th Century Fox Television films ABC Family original films American children's comedy films American Christmas comedy films American comedy television films Christmas television films Films about missing people Films directed by Peter Hewitt Films scored by David Kitay Films set in Maine Films shot in Winnipeg Home Alone (franchise) Television sequel films English-language Christmas comedy films