Macaulay Culkin doesn't make any money from starring in Home Alone

Fans are surprised Macaulay Culkin has not made a penny from Home Alone since the film's release 33 years ago.

With Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to start making your way through the Christmas film ‘binge-list’, and if you’re anything like us, Home Alone is a festive staple.

Macaulay Culkin is arguably one of the most notorious faces of Christmas, it’s hard to see him without casting your mind back to the 90s when Home Alone was first released.

Comedic genius Chris Columbus directed the film, and after proving to be so successful the first time around, five more were released after it.

Culkin’s character of Kevin is still synonymous with Christmas all these decades later, so it might be interesting to dive into why the iconic part makes him no money in 2023…

20th Century Fox

It’s reported that Culkin doesn’t make any money from the hugely successful Christmas films, as actors are not entitled to any royalties made from the movies.

Royalties are only paid to owners of the property, aka the film, and are only given to the actors if it is stipulated in their contracts.

Given that Culkin was just ten years old when he made his debut as Kevin, and no one had any idea that the series of comedy films were going to skyrocket, it is probable that there was nothing in his contract to say he would receive royalties.

For the original movie, however, he was paid $100,000 for his iconic role.

Not bad for a ten-year-old, hey!

20th Century Fox

The film held the record for the highest-grossing live-action comedy until 2011, making a total of $476.7 million at the the worldwide box office.

Meaning you can only imagine what his next pay-cheque looked like…

For the second film, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, it’s safe to say that Culkin received a bit of a pay rise, earning around $4.5 million.

Decades later in 2023, he is now reportedly worth around $18 million, following a hugely successful acting career after his rise to fame as the ‘Christmas kid’.

Fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, were surprised to hear about Culkin’s lack of earnings from the Christmas film giant.

One said: “Finding out Macaulay Culkin doesn’t collect any royalties for Home Alone feels like the saddest thing I’ve read in a while.”

Another said: “Dayum, I really thought Macaulay Culkin was getting royalties from Home Alone/Home Alone 2.

“But nope, it wasn’t in his contract.”