For most, Home Alone is the best in the franchise, but for Macaulay Culkin, number 2 is the one he holds dearest.
The original Home Alone took the Christmas theme and gave it an original spin. Rather than the family being together at Christmas, Kevin, played by Culkin, is left at home, alone. The hijinks that arise from this situation created an instant classic that netted $17,081,997 at the box office.
Since then, it has continued to make its money from sales and the repeated showings on TV. The original Home Alone is a Christmas favorite for many, but not Macaulay Culkin. He prefers the second.
While talking to Sean Evans on his Hot Ones show, he explained why the second film was his number one. It wasn’t for the plot, or the actors; it was for another reason altogether. Home Alone 2 netted Macaulay Culkin way more money.
Big Cash For Macauley Culkin
Talking to the Hot Ones host, he explained that, after the first movie’s success, Culkin decided to get in on the action. As well as his salary, he also took 5% of film sales and 15% of merch sales. The roaring popularity of the first movie guaranteed a huge turnout for the second Home Alone, and his gamble paid off.
Home Alone 2 brought in a massive $31,126,882 at the box office. This comes in at just over $1.5 million for Caulkin. “I got paid more. I think I own five percent of the net. And also 15 percent of the merchandising. So, if you buy a Talkboy, I’m like, yeah, I’ll take 15 percent of that. Thank you very much. By the way, buy a Talkboy this Christmas,” he said in the interview.
Sometimes, an actor is given the opportunity to take some of their wage as a percentage of profits. Of course, if the movie flops, so does their wage. But, in this case, it was a pretty safe bet. Even now, Macauley Culkin will be receiving a payout every time Home Alone 2 makes a sale.
There is no way it’s the better movie, though.