Film · 1990 · Home Alone (1 of 5)

Home Alone

Name: Home Alone
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Family
Released: 1990-12-07
Duration: 103 min
Rating: 7.7
Cast: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, Catherine O'Hara

Directed by Chris Columbus · starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern

1 h 43 min
PG
Adventure · Comedy · Family
USA
Released in the UK 6 December 1990

7.7 Users47 votes

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Synopsis

'Home Alone' is an American comedy directed by Chris Columbus and written and produced by John Hughes. The film initiates the "Home Alone" saga and stars young Macaulay Culkin in the movie that rose him to stardom.

Kevin McCallister is an eight year old child, who lives in the suburbs of Chicago with his large family. He usually suffers the jokes and mockery of his older brothers and cousins. The night before the whole family is set to depart on vacation to Paris he ends up grounded in the attic and, accidentally, left behind by his family who leaves him home alone. His mother realizes the mistake mid flight but, when they land in France, a blizzard has cancelled all the return flights for the next two days.

In Chicago, Kevin doesn't seem very worried for the disappearance of his family. However, two bandits are in the neighborhood and, knowing Kevin's situation, decide to plan a robbery in the McCallisters' house. Then, Kevin fills the house of booby traps to try to catch Harry and Marv and calls the police, which ends up arresting the two bandits.

Although the critics weren't completely favorable at first, the movie soon became a cultural worldwide phenomenon and a box office success. Grossing more than 476 millions worldwide, it was the most successful comedy in history until the release of 'The Hangover Part II' in 2011. It was also the most grossing Christmas movie until 'The Grinch' was released in 2018.

Where to watch Home Alone

All the options

Available now in the UK:

The essentials

Runtime: 103 min1 hour and 43 minutes
Budget: $18m20th Century Studios
Rating: PGParental guidance

How long is Home Alone?: 1 hour and 43 minutes (103 minutes).
When was Home Alone released in the UK?: It was released in the UK on 6 December 1990.
Who directed Home Alone?: Chris Columbus.
Who is in Home Alone?: It stars Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern and John Heard.
Where can I watch Home Alone?: In the UK you can watch it on subscription on Disney+ and on rent on Apple TV and Prime Video.
Is it a sequel?: Yes: it follows Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

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Cast

Full cast (20)

Director: Chris Columbus
Writers: John Hughes
Music: John Williams
Producers: John Hughes, Mark Radcliffe

Videos and trailers

All 2 videos

This is the bizarre connection between 'Friends' and 'Home Alone' 1:2027 December 2016

1:00 Macaulay Culkin is 'Home Alone' once again on this Google ad

Photos and posters

All 35 photos

+27 photosand 2 posters

Reviews

7.7 47 votes

1015 %
99 %
819 %
736 %
611 %
≤511 %

Awards

All the awards

Academy Awards (Oscars) 1991 2 nominations

The Home Alone films

See them all

Soundtrack

All 13 songs

Have Yourself A Merry Little ChristmasMel Tormé Spotify
Please Come Home for ChristmasSouthside Johnny Lyon Spotify
White ChristmasThe Drifters Spotify
Rockin' Around the Christmas TreeBrenda Lee Spotify

Trivia

The first scene

The scene in which Kevin is buying a toothbrush was the first scene shot for the movie.
Buzz's "girlfriend"

When Kevinn finds a photo of Buzz girlfriend, actually is a picture of a boy, because the director consider it would be cruel to make the joke with a picture of a real girl.
We want more Kevin

The initial version of the film had more scenes of the family in Paris. But when the film was tested everybody wanted more Kevin scenes and less of the McCallisters.
A nightmare for the real neighbors

The scenes of the exterior of the house were shot in a building in Winnetka, outside Chicago, located in 671 Lincoln Avenue. It is a quiet neighborhood that, after the movie success, saw how hundreds of tourists came to take photos of the exterior, specially at Christmas. The neighbors were so upset they even asked Google to remove the house from the "Steet View" portion.
A difficult shooting schedule

Due to child labor laws, Macaulay Culkin could only work five hours a day. Because he is in almost all of the movie scenes, the team had to plan all the shooting with his schedule.