Home Alone (1990)
76%RT Audience Score: 80%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 2 Oscars
11 wins & 6 nominations total
Home Alone uneven but frequently funny premise stretched unreasonably thin is buoyed by Macaulay Culkin’s cute performance and strong supporting stars
Home Alone is a classic movie that never gets old, even if the parenting is questionable. Kevin McCallister is a true hero and watching him outsmart the burglars is always hilarious. Plus, who doesn’t love a good Christmas movie? It’s the perfect film to watch with family and friends during the holiday season. And let’s be real, we all wish we could set up booby traps like Kevin.
Production Company(ies)
Aamir Khan Productions, Jhamu Sughand Productions,
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
671 Lincoln Avenue, Winnetka, Illinois, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1990
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 42m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 16, 1990 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 7, 2004
Genre(s)
Holiday/Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara, John Heard, Roberts Blossom, directed by Chris Columbus, written by John Hughes, holiday, comedy, PG, box office, $281.5M, reviewed by Juan Carlos Coto, Peter Bradshaw, Dave Kehr, Peter Rainer, Patrick Smith, Ian Nathan, Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, Joe Pesci as Harry Lime, Daniel Stern as Marv Merchants, Catherine O’Hara as Kate McCallister, John Heard as Peter McCallister, Roberts Blossom as Old Man Marley, produced by John Hughes, 20th Century Fox, Dolby, Surround
Worldwide gross: $476,684,675
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,098,943,781
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 84
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 119,841,198
US/Canada gross: $285,761,243
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $658,790,931
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 43
US/Canada opening weekend: $17,081,997
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $39,380,654
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 320
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $18,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $41,497,009
Production budget ranking: 926
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $22,346,139
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,035,100,633
ROI to date (est.): 1,621%
ROI ranking: 62
Joe Pesci – Harry Lime
Daniel Stern – Marv Merchants
Catherine O’Hara – Kate McCallister
John Heard – Peter McCallister
Roberts Blossom – Old Man Marley
Director(s)
Chris Columbus
Writer(s)
John Hughes
Producer(s)
John Hughes
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
11 wins & 6 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (61) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (20)
When it’s going somewhere, Home Alone is quite funny. But Hughes and Columbus hung too much on the scene-setting slight idea; the film brings too much baggage, and the trip seems much too long.
August 18, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/4
Juan Carlos Coto
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
[Culkin] is a vivid screen presence, almost incandescent with confidence.
November 30, 2018 | Rating: 3/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Home Alone seems to be nominating itself as a Christmas classic [and] the film does go some way toward getting the job done.
November 10, 2017 | Rating: 3/4
Dave Kehr
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Home Alone delivers enough laughs.
November 10, 2017
Peter Rainer
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
The whole thing is gloriously tinged with nostalgia.
November 10, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
Patrick Smith
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A hilarious comedy (although not a very believable one — there can be no eight-year-olds this ingenious) that kids will love and adults won’t mind sitting through either.
July 26, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Still highly entertaining despite Kevin’s family being very problematic. Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci brought some great comedy to their scenes.
December 30, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Justin Brown
Medium Popcorn
This still holds up and is pretty funny despite the bad parenting.
December 30, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Brandon Collins
Medium Popcorn
I’m “Team Kevin” all the way. He’s a hero.
December 30, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Tatiana Albandos
Medium Popcorn
You can never go wrong with frequent Home Alone viewings because the laughs never end!
December 20, 2021
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies
A not completely unnuanced riff on the themes of family, safety and sanctity.
January 9, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
PJ Nabarro
Patrick Nabarro
The degree to which Home Alone’s various components work, and work exceedingly well, is generally nothing short of astonishing…
December 18, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews…
Plot
It is Christmas time and the McCallister family is preparing for a vacation in Paris, France. But the youngest in the family, Kevin (Macaulay Culkin), got into a scuffle with his older brother Buzz (Devin Ratray) and was sent to his room, which is on the third floor of his house. Then, the next morning, while the rest of the family was in a rush to make it to the airport on time, they completely forgot about Kevin, who now has the house all to himself. Being home alone was fun for Kevin, having a pizza all to himself, jumping on his parents’ bed, and making a mess. Then, Kevin discovers about two burglars, Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), about to rob his house on Christmas Eve. Kevin acts quickly by wiring his own house with makeshift booby traps to stop the burglars and to bring them to justice.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels praises Macaulay Culkin’s “cute performance” and the “strong supporting stars” in Home Alone.
Chris-Columbus.jpg
