Home Alone

Home Alone is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. It stars Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, and Catherine O'Hara. The film follows an eight-year-old boy (Culkin), who must defend his home from two burglars (Pesci and Stern) after his family mistakenly leaves him behind on their Christmas vacation. It was filmed between February and May 1990, in an array of locations. The film was originally meant to be a production from Warner Bros., but was changed to a 20th Century Fox production when Hughes exceeded a $10 million budget that he promised for the film with Warner Bros.

Home Alone premiered on November 10, 1990 in Chicago; it was released wider in the United States on November 16, 1990. With a total gross of $476.7 million, it was the highest-grossing live-action comedy ever, and held the record until it was overtaken by The Hangover Part II in 2011. The film received two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for Culkin, as well as two Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score, which was composed by John Williams, and Best Original Song for "Somewhere in My Memory". Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics on its initial release, Home Alone has since been hailed as a holiday classic among audiences and is often regarded as one of the best Christmas films ever made.

Home Alone spawned a successful film franchise that started with the 1992 sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, which is the only Home Alone sequel to have most of the original cast reprising their roles.