Why Macaulay Culkin prefers Home Alone 2 to the original

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Last Updated on August 21, 2025

Christmas may be a few months away and Christmas in July wrapped up with a bow, but we can’t pass up anytime Macaulay Culkin chats Home Alone. For a lot of us, the first two are essential watches around the holiday season. But Culkin has a favorite Home Alone – and for sound financial reasons.

Culkin recently appeared on Hot Ones, where during the Last Dab, host Sean Evans asked him what made Home Alone 2 a superior movie, to which Culkin responded, “I got paid more…I think I own 5 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 for Christmas!”

In Home Alone, Culkin’s Kevin McCallister uses the Tiger’s Talkboy to book a hotel, scare away Rob Schneider and make his stint in New York City a bit easier as he commits fraud and nearly once again kills Harry and Marv.

While the original Home Alone is a bonafide classic (top 5 Christmas movies, easily!), it’s hard to put up an argument if someone prefers Lost in New York – heck, we made an entire video taking that exact stance. Whether you prefer the first or second Home Alone, there are a couple of things we can all agree on: one is that every sequel without Culkin deserves an iron to the face; the other is that it’s still incredibly cool that Culkin is still so willing to discuss the movies. He remains such a devotee that he even took the movie on the road last year with a special tour, sharing behind-the-scenes stories that would drive his wife, Brenda Song, crazy

Collectively, the first two Home Alone movies grossed over $835 million worldwide, hitting #3 and #2 on their respective year-end domestic charts. The first also stands as one of the highest-grossing Christmas movies ever.

Which Home Alone do you prefer? What’s your favorite booby trap that Kevin McCallister ever set? Let us know in the comments section below, ya filthy animal!

Source: Hot Ones

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