How "Home Alone" made Macaulay Culkin a Christmas millionaire
The movies about Kevin McCallister were massive box office hits and, over the years, have become an almost indispensable part of Christmas. For Macaulay Culkin, they were also a source of vast wealth.
Macaulay Culkin is undoubtedly one of cinema's most well-known child actors. The "Home Alone" series was a huge box office hit, and a few years later, the actor starred in "Richie Rich," making him a multimillionaire before he turned 16.
Macaulay Culkin earned tens of millions for "Home Alone"
Undoubtedly, Culkin is best remembered by audiences for the "Home Alone" movies. The first "Home Alone" grossed over £370 million at cinemas, which seems amusing from today's perspective, but considering inflation, it's over a billion "modern" pounds.
This, of course, led to immediate negotiations for a sequel. Due to the original's enormous commercial success, all the actors received significant raises. However, not everyone felt they were sufficient—Daniel Stern, who played one of the burglars, initially rejected the offer, stating that he was "worth more." As we know, in the end, they managed to sign a contract that satisfied him.
Undoubtedly, the biggest jump in salary for a film was that of Culkin's contract—the actor reportedly received £86,000 for the original. For the sequel, however, he received £3.9 million! But that sum pales compared to his earned after the film's release.
Culkin earned more after the premiere of "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York"
As is often the case with major stars, producers offered an upfront fee and included a clause regarding a percentage of box office revenues in the contract. This was very lucrative because "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" grossed nearly £284 million in ticket sales.
Years later, Stern revealed in his biography "Home and Alone" that Culkin earned an additional 5% of the total box office revenue for the second film in the series. This meant that after the premiere of "Home Alone 2," he received an extra £14 million.
This means that Culkin earned a total of £17.8 million for his role in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York." It's important to remember that this is only part of his total earnings—as the movie is shown yearly at Christmas on televisions worldwide, Culkin receives additional millions of pounds in royalties.
