It premiered to begin the 1990 Christmas season and since then has captivated the hearts of several generations. It is the film “Home Alone”, in Spanish “Mi pobre angelito”, starring Macaulay Culkin, who portrayed the eight-year-old boy “Kevin McCallister”. This has become a movie that transports us to Christmas magic and every year it cannot be missing from the television screens of thousands of families. At 35 years old, this story continues to teach us the power of family unity and courage in the face of adversity. Today

The Premiere of Home Alone

Title: Home Alone

Duration: 103 minutes

Genre: Comedy

Director: Chris Columbus

Rating: PG

Released:  November 16, 1990

The Cast 

Macaulay Culkin: Kevin 

Joe Pesci: Harry 

Daniel Stern: Marv 

John Heard: Peter

Catherine O’Hara: Kate

Roberts Blossom: Marley

The Story

“Kevin McCallister,” an eight-year-old, mischievous and troublesome child, who is left home alone by mistake, must defend his home from a pair of burglars on Christmas Eve.

Box Office

The worldwide ticket sales were so successful that the total gross reached $476.7 million, making it one of the highest-grossing films of 1990.

The Franchise

Following the success of the first film, a second installment starring the same Macaulay Culkin was made and later a third in which a new protagonist was introduced.

Home Alone: 1990

Home Alone 2: 1992

Home Alone 3: 1997 

The Cost

$18.3 million was the final reported production cost, despite producer John Hughes having said that no more than $10 million would be spent, but the budget kept increasing.

A Snowy Setting

The snow in the film is a mix of real and artificial snow. The iconic Christmas morning scene used an actual storm that battered Chicago during filming, complemented with dehydrated potato flakes, an economical solution to simulate more snow falling. In other scenes of the yard and roof, artificial snow (salt, cereal flakes) was used to fill the gaps.

The Filming

Principal photography took place from February 14, 1990 to May 8, 1990, over 83 days. Exterior house scenes were filmed at a three-story single-family home located in the town of Winnetka, in the North Shore area of Illinois.

To Watch at Home

The film was first released by Fox Video on VHS and LaserDisc in the United States on August 22, 1991, being its first video release that was sold directly to the public rather than going first to the rental market. It sold 11 million copies, generating Fox 150 million dollars in revenue, which made it, together with “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” the best-selling video of all time up to that point.