Macaulay Culkin Says ‘Home Alone 2’ Is Better Than ‘Home Alone’ Because ‘I Got Paid More’: ‘I Think I Own Five Percent of the Net’ Profit

Macaulay Culkin is giving away on-set secrets like it’s Christmas.

via: Variety

“Home Alone” favorite Macaulay Culkin appeared on the latest episode of “Hot Ones” and got asked to pick his favorite movie in which he played Kevin McCallister. Does Culkin prefer the 1990 original “Home Alone” or its 1992 sequel, “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York”? It turns out the answer is not too complicated for the former child star.

Culkin did not hesitate to answer “Home Alone” 2 and quipped: “I got paid more. I think I own five percent of the net. And also 15 perfect of the merchandising. So, if you buy a Talkboy I’m like yeah, I’ll take 15 percent of that. Thank you very much. By the way, buy a Talkboy this Christmas.”

Both “Home Alone” movies are considered classics and were box office hits. The franchise remains near and dear to Culkin’s heart, not only because of its success but also due to the relationships he made with cast members like his on-screen mom Catherine O’Hara. When he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023, O’Hara showed up to give a heartwarming speech about her co-star.

“‘Home Alone’ was, is and always will be a beloved global sensation … the reason families all over the world can’t let a year go by without watching and loving ‘Home Alone’ together is because of Macaulay Culkin,” O’Hara said. “I know you worked really hard, I know you did, but you made acting look like the most natural thing in the world to do.”

Culkin toured the country last holiday season with “A Nostalgic Night With Macaulay Culkin,” in which he hosted screenings of “Home Alone” followed by a Q&A. At a stop in Rosemont, Ill., Culkin went viral for revealing his co-star Joe Pesci actually bit his finger while rehearsing a scene in which Pesci’s thief Harry threatens Culkin’s Kevin.

“He was trying to scare me,” Culkin remembered. “He was like, ‘I want to be menacing to this kid.'”

Rumors have long persisted that Pesci intentionally tried to make Culkin think he was mean as to better facilitate their on-screen dynamic.

“That’s what I heard,” Culkin said on “Hot Ones” about the rumor. “But you know, I can see why he was kind of like, ‘I wanna scare the kid. I wanna be scary.’ I just remember kind of just sitting there and he goes, ‘How you doing, kid?’ And I go, ‘I’m actually tired. I haven’t been home in like four or five months.’ He goes, ‘I haven’t been home in three years.’ I was like, ‘I didn’t really realize this was a dick measuring contest.’ But yeah, I guess you beat the 10-year-old, Joe Pesci.”

Culkin also cleared up some of the rumors that have circulated the 1990 movie for decades, including how he used his improv skills in the film.

Indeed, Macaulay revealed that he didn’t improvise the iconic line, “You guys give up? Or are you thirsty for more?”—despite many viewers speculating that he had.

“Not that one. That was in the script.”

The 44-year-old—who shares sons Dakota, 4, and Carson, 2, with partner Brenda Song—did share, though, that some of the dialogue during Kevin McCallister’s trip to the store was improvised.

“When I was at the grocery store, it’s like, ‘Where are your parents?’ ‘Why won’t you tell me?’ And I said, ‘Because you’re a stranger,’” Macaulay continued. “That one was mine. I did a lot of that kind of stuff.”

The actor, who went on to star in the movie’s 1992 sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, also confirmed that the picture of Kevin’s brother Buzz’s girlfriend was actually a boy in makeup because the director Chris Columbus didn’t want a little girl to be the recipient of Kevin’s disgust.

Watch Culkin’s full “Hot Ones” interview in the video below.