Christmas Top Ten Throwback #7: HOME ALONE

Baby…who can forget that look on McCauley Culkin’s face and that famous scream.  Home Alone let us see up close and personal what could happen when a child accidentally gets left home during one of the busiest holiday seasons of the year and what this kid does for survival.  Kevin initially relishes being home alone, but soon has to contend with two would-be burglars played by Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci. The film also features Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara and John Heard as Kevin’s parents.  In its opening weekend, Home Alone grossed $17 million in 1,202 theaters, averaging $14,211 per site and just 6% of the final total.It spawned a successful franchise, with four sequels and three video games, and with the main cast reprising their roles for the sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

Written by the late, great John Hughes (who brought us Ferris Bueller and 16 Candles), Home Alone was the highest-grossing comedy of all time.  Home Alone proved so popular that it stayed in theaters well past the Christmas season. It was the No. 1 film at the box office for 12 straight weeks, from its release weekend of November 16–18, 1990 through the weekend of February 1–3, 1991.  The film 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 as the highest-grossing live-action comedy ever.

By the time it had run its course in theaters, Home Alone was the third highest-grossing film of all time, according to the home video box. In total, its cinema run grossed $477,561,243 worldwide.  According to William Goldman the film’s success prompted the creation of a Hollywood verb: “to be Home Aloned, meaning to have film’s box office potential affected by the impact of Home Alone. Examples of movies that were Home Aloned include Three Men and a Little Lady and Kindergarten Cop.

Take a look back at Kevin and his adventures of being Home Alone…