It Took 28 Years For A Movie To Dethrone Home Alone’s Biggest Christmas Movie Record

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December is traditionally a very successful month for movie theaters, as many families enjoy going to the movies together during the holidays. What could be more festive than celebrating Christmas with a shared movie experience?

Many people consider Home Alone one of the greatest Christmas movies ever made. The 1990 film, starring Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, was directed by Chris Columbus and written by John Hughes, and it’s genuinely funny, touching, and highly enjoyable – despite its surprisingly low 66% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The movie Home Alone was a huge hit, starting a successful series of films for 20th Century Fox that Disney continues to profit from. Despite costing only $18 million to make, it earned an incredible $476 million in theaters. It was particularly popular with families during the 1990 Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, becoming the highest-grossing Christmas movie at the time.

Home Alone Was The Highest Grossing Christmas Movie For 28 Years

When Home Alone premiered in theaters on November 16, 1990, it earned $17 million in its opening weekend – almost covering its entire production cost. This was the beginning of a remarkably successful run in the United States, where the film stayed at number one for twelve weeks straight. For nine of those weeks—including the first eight—it earned over $10 million each week.

When it finished playing in theaters, Home Alone earned $285 million in the United States and Canada, and about $460 million worldwide. This made it the highest-grossing Christmas movie of all time. Since then, re-releases have added another $16.7 million internationally, bringing the movie’s total earnings to $476 million.

When it was released, Home Alone completely dominated the Christmas movie box office. Before that, Gremlins held the record, earning $153.8 million in 1984. Die Hard 2 then surpassed that with $240 million in 1990, but just a few months later, Home Alone nearly doubled that amount, setting a new record.

As a lifelong movie fan, it’s no surprise to me that Home Alone still holds such a special place in everyone’s hearts. When it first came out, it was a massive hit – families and kids absolutely rushed to see it! And honestly, it’s that pure entertainment value that keeps it so popular even now, cementing its place in pop culture history.

Several Big Modern Christmas Movie Classics Failed To Beat Home Alone’s Box Office

Hollywood struggled to create another blockbuster like Home Alone, despite many attempts. Even the sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, didn’t perform as well, earning $358.9 million worldwide—a significant drop of $118 million compared to the first film, two years prior.

As a huge movie fan, I remember when How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Jim Carrey came out in 2000. It was a massive hit, earning over $345 million worldwide! That really showed how beloved Dr. Seuss’ characters are. But even with that incredible success, it still didn’t quite reach the box office record set by Home Alone, falling short by over $130 million.

As a huge movie fan, I’ve always been fascinated by the quest for the ultimate Christmas box office hit. But honestly, for a long time, Hollywood just kept missing the mark. Even popular franchises like The Santa Clause couldn’t quite break the record. And surprisingly, neither could Elf, which is a modern classic! They even tried those really realistic-looking animated films like The Polar Express and the newer A Christmas Carol, but they just didn’t quite connect with audiences enough to reach the top spot.

While some people claim Iron Man 3 broke the record in 2013 with its $1.2 billion earnings, it doesn’t quite fit the criteria of a true Christmas movie. Although it’s set during Christmas, it lacks many other qualities we associate with the genre. Therefore, it’s misleading to call Iron Man 3 the highest-grossing Christmas movie; that title actually belongs to another film.

The Grinch Finally Beat Home Alone

Although Jim Carrey starred in a live-action version in 2000, it took 18 years for How the Grinch Stole Christmas! to become the highest-grossing Christmas movie of all time, surpassing Home Alone. Universal Pictures teamed up with the animation studio Illumination to create a new, fully animated version of the classic Dr. Seuss story, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of the Grinch.

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The 2018 movie The Grinch earned $512 million in theaters, surpassing the box office total of Home Alone at the time by $62 million. With several re-releases since then, its worldwide earnings have climbed to $552.9 million, making it $76 million higher than the previous record.

There are several reasons why The Grinch did so well. The story is famous, the animated style attracted a wide audience, and Illumination films consistently perform well in theaters. Plus, 2018 was a strong year for moviegoing in general, with lots of people attending and ticket prices on the rise, which boosted box office numbers across the board.

Considering the 28-year difference in when these movies came out, it’s important to account for inflation. While Home Alone and The Grinch earned roughly the same amount domestically when they were released ($285 million versus $271 million), adjusting for inflation reveals a bigger difference. The Grinch would have earned around $337 million today, but Home Alone would have earned a much larger $765 million.

Although The Grinch earned more money internationally, that advantage disappears when accounting for inflation. Still, Illumination’s animated film currently holds the record for the highest-grossing Christmas movie of all time. However, when adjusted for inflation, Home Alone’s numbers show just how incredibly popular it was in 1990 and how well-loved it continues to be.

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2025-12-20 16:41