Macaulay Caulkin has a refreshingly honest answer behind why Home Alone 2 is better than Home Alone: "I got paid more"

Macaulay Caulkin as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York — (Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Macaulay Caulkin knows why Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is better than Home Alone... and it's not because of higher stakes or bigger laughs.

"I got paid more," Caulkin hilariously replied, when asked by Hot Ones host Sean Evans. "I think I own five percent of the net. I also 15 percent of the merchandising. So, if you buy a Talkboy, I'm like, 'Yeah, I'll take a percent of that. Thank you very much. By the way, uh, buy a Talkboy this Christmas.'"

Look, if I could buy a Talkboy, I would... but the money wouldn't go to Caulkin. The brand of recorder, used by Caulkin in Home Alone 2 and released as a tie-in with the film, is now defunct as of 1999. So not only was Caulkin paid $4.5 million for the sequel, making him the highest paid child actor in Hollywood history at the time (at just 10 years old), but he also netted 15 percent of some 45 million Talkboys that were sold. So, I understand his answer completely.

The Chris Columbus-directed sequel, which hit theaters in 1992, earned a whopping $356 million at the global box office, against a budget of just $28 million. After starring in several more films, Caulkin was able to retire at the age of 13 in 1994. Because of this, Home Alone 3 was assembled with an all-new cast and premiered in 1997 to a modest box office return. The franchise is still ongoing, however, with the latest installment, Home Sweet Home Alone, hitting Disney Plus in 2021 (and releasing to less-than-favorable reviews).

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

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