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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Contemporary reports put Macaulay Culkin’s salary for the original Home Alone at about $250,000. The widely repeated $4.5 million figure was for the 1992 sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York—and even those deal terms were reported, not confirmed.
What was Culkin paid for the original Home Alone?
The best-supported contemporary figure is about $250,000. The Los Angeles Times reported that amount in May 1991, and a November 1992 Los Angeles Times interview likewise described Culkin as having been paid about $250,000 for the original film.
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That is a reported salary, not a verified contract amount: neither article reproduces Culkin’s signed agreement or documents the final payment. Some later coverage has cited a lower figure of $100,000, but the sources cited here do not explain the discrepancy or establish the executed contract amount. The precise figure therefore remains unsettled.
Why is $4.5 million associated with Home Alone?
The $4.5 million figure refers to Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, released in 1992, not the 1990 original. In May 1991, the Los Angeles Times reported that Culkin’s sequel deal was said to be $4.5 million plus 5% of the film’s gross. The article also made clear that the terms were unconfirmed: a Fox spokeswoman said the signed deal was “but not exactly for those terms.” A 1992 Times interview still described the $4.5 million-plus-profits arrangement as reported rather than established fact.
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- 8-Year-Old Kevin McAllister Is Accidentally Left Behind When His Family Takes Off For a Vacation In France Over the Holiday Season. Once He Realizes They've Left Him Home By Himself, Kevin Learns To Fend For Himself, And Eventually Has To Protect His House Against Bumbling Burglars Harry And Marv, Who Are Planning To Rob Every House In Kevin's Suburban Chicago Neighborhood. Kevin's Mother Kate Is
What did Culkin later say about sequel participation?
In a 2025 interview recap, GamesRadar+ quoted Culkin recalling, “I think I own five percent of the net. I also 15 percent of the merchandising.” This is his later recollection about the sequel arrangement. It is distinct from the 1991 report of a percentage of gross: gross, net, and merchandise participation are different terms, and the comment does not establish what he ultimately received. It is not evidence of royalties or participation from the original film. GamesRadar+’s 2025 recap covers the remarks.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- The McAllister Family Go On a Holiday To Florida. Kevin McAllister Gets Separated From His Family, And Manages To Get Himself Onto a Plane To New York Instead. There, He Checks Into the Best Hotel With His Father's Credit Card, And Sets Out To Enjoy Himself. Unfortunately, the Burglars He Had Foiled Before Were In New York After Being Released From Jail, And Had Plans To Rob the Biggest Toyshop In
Rank #2
- Fox Home Entertainment Home Alone Collection
What can be said with confidence?
- Two contemporaneous Los Angeles Times accounts put Culkin’s original-film salary at about $250,000.
- The exact executed contract amount is not established by those reports.
- The reported $4.5 million and participation figures concern the sequel, and the original 1991 account explicitly cautioned that its reported deal terms were not exact.
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