After finding fame as a child star Macaulay Culkin became the face of Christmas in Home Alone, but how much did he make from the films?

Macaulay Culkin became a household name thanks to Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, landing the role of Kevin McCallister in the first movie when he was just 10 years old.

In case you haven’t watched the ultimate Christmas classic yet amid working your way through the likes of Miracle on 34th Street and Love Actually, it stars Macaulay as 10-year-old Kevin who’s left to defend his family home from burglars after his entire family including his parents have jetted off on holiday.

Macaulay went on to star in a number of well-known movies and TV shows after the successful franchise, including The Good Son, Richie Rich and, more recently, American Horror Story, but how much was he paid for his most famous role in Home Alone and how much have the films made him?

Macaulay Culkin, Brenda Song and their son Dakota Song Culkin on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Picture: Getty

How much money did Macaulay Culkin make from Home Alone?

Macaulay was paid $100,000 (around £50k GBP back in 1990) for his role as Kevin in Home Alone. By the time the second film came to fruition, he received a hefty pay rise of around $4.5 million (£3.5 million).

This figure was a huge leap from how much he was paid for his first movie role in Uncle Buck, for which he was paid $40,000 (£31k).

After Home Alone 2 Macaulay became one of the highest paid actors in his career and went on to secure even more big-screen roles like The Nutcracker, Richie Rich and Party Monster.

For Richie Rich in 1994 he was paid a whopping $8 million!

Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone. Picture: Alamy

These days, Macaulay’s net worth is estimated at around $18 million (£14 million), some of which he didn’t have access to until he turned 18.

He told Ellen DeGeneres in 2018 he never realised he was wealthy until he finally had access to his finances at 18 years old.

“I didn’t see it until I turned 18,” he recalled. “I call it the ‘Slip of Paper’ meeting, where they pretty much put a number on a piece of paper and slide it across the table and then—boom! There you go. So I felt like some kid worked really, really hard, and I inherited all of his money pretty much.

“I had kind of no real sense, but at the same time, it allows me to treat everything like a hobby really. I do nothing for my dinner nowadays, so I can do all kinds of projects.”

Some fans might not realise that Macaulay doesn’t actually make any money from Home Alone anymore, as it tends to be those involved in the creation and production of films who receive the royalties.

Home Alone 1 and 1 make Macaulay Culkin a household name. Picture: Alamy

Macaulay has taken years off between projects and has managed to keep his personal life largely out of the spotlight through it all. Earlier in 2023 he received a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame and gave a shout out to his fiancée Brenda Song and their two kids, Dakota, who was born in April 2021, and a second son whose name hasn’t been confirmed, who was born in March.