Macaulay Culkin’s Game-Changing Contract on Home Alone 2
Who knew an eight-year-old left alone in New York could make millions? When Macaulay Culkin filmed Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, he wasn’t just the movie’s hero—he was also a contract negotiation whiz (with a bit of help from his team). Behind the scenes, Culkin pocketed a jaw-dropping £14.1 million—about $17.95 million—thanks to a clever percentage clause in his movie deal. Rather than just settle for a standard salary, his contract included a sweet 5% slice of the sequel’s entire box office gross. That came on top of his already-enviable $3.93 million upfront paycheck.
If you crunch the numbers, that sequel grossed $359 million worldwide in 1992. Culkin’s earnings soared past those of his co-stars, cementing his spot as the richest kid on the Christmas movie roster. By today’s standards, with inflation factored in, that single deal would make him nearly £31.71 million ($39 million) richer. That kind of contract is almost unheard of for young actors—even in Hollywood.
From Breakout Star to Child Millionaire
How did the kid who booby-trapped his house for the holidays become such a financial heavyweight? When the first Home Alone hit screens in 1990, Culkin’s salary was a modest $110,000. But the runaway success of the movie made him a box office goldmine, with every studio desperate to keep him around for a sequel. That leverage gave Culkin and his representatives plenty of room to demand more than just the usual fixed payment—thus the birth of the 5% box office clause.
Culkin’s trust fund, managed by his parents in the early days, eventually hit around $50 million as the money from Home Alone and its sequel stacked up. Once old enough, Culkin took control and cut parental oversight out, a decision widely covered in the press at the time. Not only did this huge payday create a media buzz, it set a fresh standard for how child actors could get compensated for blockbusters.
Daniel Stern, the actor who played the goofy burglar Marv, spilled the behind-the-scenes numbers in his 2024 memoir, Home and Alone. Stern pointed out that Culkin’s share absolutely dwarfed the payouts to his adult co-stars, highlighting just how central Culkin was to the bankability and charm of the movies. Studios rarely hand out such deals, especially for child stars, but Culkin’s contribution to the cultural phenomenon of the franchise basically left them no choice.
Decades later, Home Alone and its sequel are still holiday must-watches, and Culkin’s legendary payday is still the stuff of Hollywood legend. The combination of sharp negotiating and sheer popularity turned Culkin into more than just a household face—he became the ultimate poster child for striking gold with the right contract at the right time.
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