Every 'Home Alone' Movie, Ranked

Since its theatrical debut in 1990, Home Alone has become a beloved holiday classic that is essential yearly viewing for many families. Directed by Chris Columbus, written by John Hughes and starring Macaulay Culkin, the original film resonated with children and their families alike for its slapstick physical comedy, and simple but universal themes about appreciating one's family.

Unfortunately, Home Alone's success also ensured that it became a franchise. Its first sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, is widely considered a fun follow-up to the original, with some even viewing it as a superior film, but subsequent releases have received mixed reception at best. This is every entry in the Home Alone franchise, ranked based on how entertaining they are as a whole.

6 'Home Alone 4' (2002)

Directed by Rod Daniel

Home Alone 4, the series' first made-for-TV entry, checks in with Kevin McCallister (now played by Mike Weinberg) as his parents' divorce is about to be finalized. For the first time ever, Kevin is given the option to either spend the holidays with his mother (Clare Carey), or his father (Jason Beghe) and his new girlfriend (Joanna Going). After a disagreement with his mother, Kevin chooses to spend Christmas with his father, interrupting the malicious plans of former Wet Bandit Marv (French Stewart) and his wife Vera (Missi Pyle) in the process.

There's nothing to like about Home Alone 4. Despite returning focus to the McCallister family, the writing makes every member, barring Kevin's mother, incredibly unlikable, which is especially egregious when no one receives any real arc or character development. This might have been acceptable if the traps were at least creative and interesting, but Home Alone 4 is the least imaginative of the bunch by a fair margin, frequently taking ideas from its predecessors when it isn't presenting bottom of the barrel material of its own. Simply said, while there are plenty of bad entries in the Home Alone franchise, Home Alone 4 is the only one without a single redeeming quality.

5 'Home Alone: The Holiday Heist' (2012)

Directed by Peter Hewitt

Home Alone: The Holiday Heist follows Finn Baxter (Christian Martyn), a video game-loving child who struggles with fears of the outside world. Shortly after moving into an allegedly haunted house, Finn must apply his knowledge of video games to real life in order to defend his home from a group of burglars (Malcolm McDowell, Debi Mazar and Eddie Steeples) when he is left home alone with his older sister (Jodelle Ferland). It was the franchise's second made-for-TV entry, and while it is better than Home Alone 4, it's still a terrible movie.

Holiday Heist's biggest issue lies in its writing. While it's nice that the film features an actual arc for its protagonist, the dialogue is incredibly bland, conveying its messages as blatantly as possible, like in a moment where Finn tells his online gaming friend, Simon (Bill Turnbull), that he has to "enjoy the real world [because] it's the best game there is". The traps themselves are at least more creative than the ones present in the fourth film, but the dialogue is sure to make Home Alone: The Holiday Heist more mind-numbing than entertaining to older audiences, unlike some of the better entries in the series.

4 'Home Sweet Home Alone' (2021)

Directed by Dan Mazer

Home Sweet Home Alone, the most recent release in the long-running franchise, is yet another disappointing stain on the legacy of the original. The film introduces viewers to Max Mercer (Archie Yates), a spoiled young boy who crosses paths with Jeff (Rob Delaney) and Pam (Ellie Kemper) McKenzie, a married couple with children who fear they will have to sell their house due to their financial difficulties. When Jeff discovers that he is in possession of a valuable doll, he goes to sell it, only to find that it is missing, suspecting Max of stealing it. In order to save his home, he and Pam plot to break into Max's house who, unbeknownst to them, has accidentally been left home alone by his vacationing family.

While Home Sweet Home Alone does feature some entertaining scenes that hearken back to the fun of the original, notably a montage where Max indulges in his newfound freedom, its twist on the series' core concept makes it a less enjoyable watch. Unlike the criminals from the previous films, the script presents Jeff and Pam as sympathetic characters, making it unpleasant to witness them fall victim to Max's various traps. This is a baffling choice that severely impacts the overall quality of the film, as it fully hammers home how cruel some of the traps can be, even if Max believes he's acting in self-defense. Its production value and occasional creative ideas keep it from being the worst in the franchise, but Home Sweet Home Alone is still difficult to recommend to anyone.

3 'Home Alone 3' (1997)

Directed by Raja Gosnell

Home Alone 3 was the series' first attempt to leave the McCallister family, instead following Alex Pruitt (Alex D. Linz), a young boy staying home with chicken pox. Unfortunately for Alex, while he's home alone, a group of criminals (played by Olek Krupa, Rya Kihlstedt, Lenny Von Dohlen and David Thornton) attempt to enter his house in search of a valuable computer chip that he has accidentally wound up in possession of, spurring him to defend his home with the help his toys and household pets.

Home Alone 3 is notable for being the only film in the franchise without Macaulay Culkin in the leading role to still be written by John Hughes. This doesn't totally save the film from making some of the same mistakes as its successors, but it is still markedly better than any of them. Alex is a far more likable protagonist than Finn and Max, and certain sequences, like any scene involving the RC car, are just as enjoyable as anything in the first film, but it is still bogged down by a lack of originality. Alex, while better than later protagonists, still lacks meaningful growth, and many of the traps feel like slight variations of earlier ideas. It's a fun watch, but Home Alone 3 is where the franchise truly began its downward spiral.

2 'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York' (1992)

Directed by Chris Columbus

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York sees Macaulay Culkin's Kevin McCallister separated from his family once again, this time by boarding the wrong plane and flying to New York instead of Miami, leaving Kevin to fend for himself while his mother (Catherine O'Hara) and father (John Heard) attempt to track him down. While in New York, Kevin stays at the Plaza Hotel, where he must avoid the discerning eye of the concierge (Tim Curry), as well as Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), who also happen to be in the city.

Home Alone 2 is entertaining in all the ways that the first one was: Culkin's charm makes Kevin exceedingly likable, even when he acts out; the script has good jokes, especially between Pesci and Stern; and the traps are fun and interesting. The film's greatest flaw is that it borrows so much from the first film. The movie lampshades this fact early on, but that doesn't excuse the fact that many of the traps are so similar, or that Kevin experiences the same exact character arc that he does in the first film. It's still a great watch, and one that any fan of the first film should be sure to see, but it is notably less fresh than its predecessor, making Home Alone 2 only the second-best film in the franchise.

1 'Home Alone' (1990)

Directed by Chris Columbus

The first Home Alone, in which Culkin's Kevin McCallister wishes for his whole family to disappear, only to wake up and discover that they have gone on vacation without him, remains the best in the series. While the film is wildly entertaining from start to finish due to the creative booby traps and witty script, it's also filled with a ton of genuine heart, brilliantly depicting Kevin's gradual realization that he misses his family, alongside his mother's willingness to do anything to get back to her son.

When compared to the rest of the series, Home Alone is notable for just how effectively it explores its core concept. Hughes' does an excellent job of bringing the classic childhood fantasy of life without parents to the big screen, by fully considering what every aspect of it would be like. The film's attention to small details, like Kevin's fear of the furnace, makes it more relatable and therefore memorable. It doesn't hurt that the dialogue is snappy and genuinely funny, especially, once again, between the Wet Bandits. All of this and more cements Home Alone as both the best film in the franchise, and an absolutely essential watch during the holiday season.

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