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  1. Entertainment
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Home Alone director says the classic franchise has some "really bad sequels": "They've completely f**ked it up"

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By Bradley Russell
Published 16 December 2025

Chris Columbus blames Home Alone 3

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Macaulay Culkin as Kevin in Home Alone
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Home Alone director Chris Columbus has pinpointed the exact moment he felt the classic franchise started to go downhill.

While speaking during a screening at the Academy Museum (via The Hollywood Reporter), Columbus says the scourge of "really bad sequels" in the home invasion series started with Home Alone 3.

While he didn't namecheck any other movies, Columbus – who also directed Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – may have also had Home Alone 4 (2002), Home Alone: The Holiday Heist (2012), and Home Sweet Home Alone (2021) in mind when passing down his judgment.

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"It's been revisited with really bad sequels," Columbus said. "Sorry to insult anybody, but they've completely fucked it up. It started with Home Alone 3 and then it just went downhill from there; Home Alone 3 is sort of the best of the bunch of the bad movies."

For the director, part of the blame lies in wirework, which he feels gives the series' trademark pratfalls and slapstick an inauthentic feeling and a "false sense of the stunt."

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Previously, star Macaulay Culkin had the perfect idea for a legacy sequel – involving Kevin returning with a son of his own.

"I'm working really hard and I'm not really paying enough attention and the kid is kind of getting miffed at me and then I get locked out. He won't let me in… and he's the one setting traps for me," Culkin said during a leg of the A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin tour (H/T Variety).

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Culkin is next set to appear in Fallout season 2. For more, check out the Fallout season 2 release schedule and a look at the Fallout season 2 timeline.

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell
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Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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