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NEED TO KNOW
Home Alone premiered on Nov. 16, 1990
The film, starring Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, is one of the highest-grossing comedies of all time
Chris Farley actually auditioned for a role in the movie
Fewholiday filmshave become as iconic and beloved asHome Alone.
The film centers around the young Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), who is accidentally left behind by his family as they head to Paris for Christmas. Even worse, while the family is gone, Kevin is forced to protect his house from two burglars, Harry Lyme (Joe Pesci) and Marv Murchins (Daniel Stern), a.k.a. the "Wet Bandits." Using a variety of cartoonishly elaborate traps, tricks and weapons, Kevin expertly (and hilariously) torments the home invaders.
Two years later, it was followed up withHome Alone 2: Lost in New York, which also became a blockbuster hit. Since then a number of sequels have followed, includingHome Alone 3(1997),Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House(2002),Home Alone: The Holiday Heist(2012) andHome Sweet Home Alone(2021).
With such a long history, the franchise also has lots of fun behind-the-scenes facts that many fans might not know — including what happened to the iconic house from the movie and who is theotherCulkin in the film.
Here are 23 behind-the-scenes facts you may not know aboutHome Alone.
It's one of the highest-grossing live-action comedies ever
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To date,Home Alonehas made over $476 million at the box office, perBox Office Mojo.
That makes it just behindBruce Almighty(2003), which has nabbed$484 million, andThe Hangover(2009), which scored$469 million.
Home Alone had a record-breaking run at the box office
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Home Aloneopened No. 1 at the box office and then stayed there for a whopping 12 weeks — until Feb. 10, 1991, long after most people had taken down their Christmas decorations, per theLos Angeles Times.
It currently stands as the fifth-longest #1 movie ever, only being beaten out byTootsie(1982),Beverly Hills Cop(1984),Titanic(1997) andE.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial(1982), perBox Office Mojo.
It was born as a result of John Hughes' travel anxiety
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In December 2015,Chicagocollected an oral history ofHome Alone, with an intro by James Hughes, the son of legendary writer-directorJohn Hughes. In it, he explains that the film originated as a stray thought his father had during a family trip to Europe in 1989.
He remembers his father thinking: "What if one of the kids had been accidentally left behind?"
Hughes wrote the first draft of the script in just nine days
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James toldChicagothat his father completed the first draft ofHome Aloneafter returning from their trip in just nine days.
He also had a furious finish, with James saying it was "capped by an eight-hour, 44-page dash to the finale."
Chris Columbus directed Home Alone instead of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
While John wrote the film, it was directed byChris Columbus, who's also known forHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. As Columbus toldChicago, he'd always wanted to direct a Christmas movie and was up forNational Lampoon's Christmas Vacation— until he metChevy Chase.
"To be completely honest, Chevy treated me like dirt," Columbus said. "There's no way I can do this movie. I know I need to work, but I can't do it with this guy."
Soon enough, the script forHome Alonecame along — and the rest was history.
The movie originally wasn't budgeted for fake snow
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As associate producer Mark Radcliffe explained toChicago, a blizzard on the second day of shooting meant that the rest of the movie had to have snow in the background throughout.
"I remember that whenever the snow melted, we were spraying ice, and then they had problems with ice," he said. "The next thing, they were literally laying bags of ice to try and create snow."
Buzz's girlfriend is actually the art director's son
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In a now-iconic scene, Kevin sees a picture of Buzz's girlfriend and says, "Buzz's girlfriend! Woof!"
However, the photo is actually of the art director's son done up like an unattractive girl, because Columbus felt it would be too cruel to make fun of an actual teenage girl.
"[They] decided it would be unkind to put a girl in that role of just being funny-looking. The art director had a son who was more than willing to volunteer for the part,"Devin Ratray, who played Buzz, previously said, perDigitalSpy. "I think if he had known it would become the highest-grossing family comedy of all time, he might have had second thoughts about it."
Chris Farley auditioned for the role of Santa Claus
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Ken Hudson Campbell took on the role of Father Christmas in the hit comedy. However, Santa Claus was nearly played bySaturday Night LivelegendChris Farley.
"Apparently, he was out all night and had just been dropped off after a night of shenanigans, shall we say," Campbell toldChicago. "Farley was kinda making catcalls to the girls who worked in the office. I was thinking, 'Oh, boy!' Chris went first. It didn't go very well. He walked in and walked right out I went in and hit what I wanted to hit. A few weeks later, I got the call."
Home Alone is just one of many holiday movies set in Chicago
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Hollywood seems to love setting holiday films in the Second City. Other holiday movies set in Chicago includePlanes, Trains and Automobiles(1987),Christmas Vacation(1989),Christmas with the Kranks(2004),Office Christmas Party(2016) andA Bad Moms Christmas(2017), among many others.
Macaulay beat out 200 other kids for the role
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It's hard to imagine anyone else playing Kevin McCallister other than Macaulay. But in theChicagoretrospective, Columbus said that hundreds of other kids auditioned.
"I ended up seeing 200 other kids, looked over hundreds of videotapes," the filmmaker said. "Then Macaulay read, and you immediately knew this was the kid."
Macaulay played with Stern's kids on set
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Stern may have played one of the nefarious Wet Bandits, but off-camera, he and Macaulay got along well. While filming the second movie, Macaulayeven played with Stern and his kids between shoots.
"The second time we got to be more friends," he told PEOPLE in December 2024. "And then my kids came to visit, and then we all went to the park together, Mac and my kids, and we played tag and ran around."
The bandit actors have yearly reunions
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When speaking to PEOPLE, Stern said hemeets up with his former costarPesci annually.
"I see him once a year," the actor said, calling Pesci a "dear friend."
The duo's relationship goes back even further thanHome Alone. They both had roles in the 1982 dramaI'm Dancing as Fast as I Can —though Stern says both actors had their parts "cut out of the movie."
Pesci actually bit Macaulay while filming
20th Century Fox
In an interview with Gavin Edwards on his blogRule Forty Two, Macaulay recounted the scene that gave him a permanent white scar on his right index finger.
"In the firstHome Alone, they hung me up on a coat hook, and Pesci says, 'I'm gonna bite all your fingers off, one at a time,' " he said. "And during one of the rehearsals, he bit me, and it broke the skin."
In 2024, the McCallister kids had their first reunion in 30 years
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One of the most hilarious (and relatable) parts ofHome Alonewas the way Kevin bickered and fought with all of his siblings. In December 2024, the actors who played his siblings were able tohave a reunion for the first time in 30 yearswhen they held a meet-and-greet at Pandora's Box Toys & Collectibles in Lafayette, N.J.
In attendance were Ratray, Kristen Minter, Michael Maronna, Angela Goethals and Jed Cohen.
There's an Olympian in the cast
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Hillary Wolf, who plays Kevin's sister Megan, quit acting afterHome Alone 2and went on to pursue judo. She competed on the U.S. Women's Team in both the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, per theorganization.
The homeowners lived in the house during filming
During filming, the owners of the McAllisters' iconic house were supposed to stay in a rented apartment for five weeks. But, as former homeowner Cynthia Abendshien toldChicago, "it didn't take four to five weeks."
"They were setting up the production and dismantling everything for five and a half months," she said. "In that time, we spent maybe three nights in the apartment."
The house continues to be a Chicago landmark
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Any Chicagoland resident will say that theHome Alonehouse in the suburb of Winnetka, Ill., is an iconic landmark for the community.
After hitting the market in May 2024, the house ended upselling for $5.5 millionin January 2025 — $25,000 over the asking price. It features a fully equipped gym, state-of-the-art movie theater, an indoor sports court and a three-car, attached heated garage.
The property previously belonged to Tim and Trisha Johnson, who purchased it in 2012 for $1.585 million, according toMansion Global.
"We're thrilled with the way this home captured everyone's attention and hearts due to its well-deserved place in cinematic history and the timeless holiday memories it evokes," Coldwell Banker Reality said to PEOPLE in a statement.
Macaulay actually cut down a tree in the backyard
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The 2024 documentaryThe House From...tells the stories of the real houses used for famous films. In the segment aboutHome Alone, the Abendshein family recalled their experience, includingone particularly shocking scene.
The Abdendshein's daughter Lauren recalled how impressed the family was watching the scene where Kevin chops down the tree and decorates it — assuming they used a prop tree.
"Well it wasn't a fake tree," she said. "They [her parents] got home and looked in the backyard and saw, 'Oh, they cut our actual tree in half.' So the tree you see in the movie that Kevin cuts down was our actual tree."
Macaulay's iconic aftershave scene was an accident
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When speaking onThe Hollywood Reporter'sAwards Chatterpodcast in December 2024,Columbus said thatthe iconic aftershave scenewas written so that Macaulay would quickly touch his face, then drop his hands.
However, "he kept his hands there," the director said. "For whatever reason, I don't know."
But he knew the moment was a hit. "He just didn't move his hands from his cheeks and it made all of us laugh," Columbus said.
Macaulay unofficially reprised his role in 2015
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In 2015, Macaulay appeared on an episode of the YouTube series:DRYVRSwhere he played an adult version of Kevin who is humorously still traumatized by the events of his childhood.
"I still have nightmares about like this bald old weirdo dude chasing me around, talking like he's Yosemite Sam," Macaulay said in the episode. To date, the episode has more than 27 million views.
Macaulay isn't the only Culkin in Home Alone
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While Macaulay plays the film's main character, he isn't the only Culkin sibling in the film.
Fuller, Kevin's bed-wetting cousin, is played byKieran Culkin, who'd go on to star in the HBO seriesSuccession(2018-2023) and win anOscar for his role inA Real Pain(2024).
Kieran had no idea what Home Alone was about when filming
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When speaking to theLos Angeles Timesin December 2024, Kieran shared thathe had no idea whatHome Alonewas aboutwhile he was shooting the iconic film.
In his eyes, his role was to "drink this Coke, wear the glasses, say the thing that you memorized, look cute and go home."
Catherine O'Hara has weighed in on the McCallister wealth debate
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For years, fans have been pointing out that with a house that size and flying an entire family to Paris for Christmas, the McCallisters must be loaded. After an investigation into the viral controversy,The New York Timeseven reported that the family must have beenin the top 1% of earnersin the Chicagoland area.
In January 2024,Catherine O'Hara, who played the McAllister matriarch Kate,gave her own opinionon the topic, saying, "I guess Peter had his own religion," she said, jokingly adding, "Church of the McCallisters."
She also said that it's possible the family inherited their wealth.
Read the original article onPeople
