Home Alone director criticizes the franchise’s sequels: “They’ve really messed it up.”

Chris Columbus, the director of Home Alone, has identified the moment he believes the beloved franchise began its decline.

During a screening at the Academy Museum, Columbus pointed to the arrival of “really bad sequels” starting with Home Alone 3 as the turning point for the series. While he didn’t mention specific titles, it’s likely he was also referencing Home Alone 4 (2002), Home Alone: The Holiday Heist (2012), and Home Sweet Home Alone (2021) when sharing his thoughts.

“It’s been revisited with really bad sequels,” Columbus remarked. “Sorry to insult anybody, but they’ve completely messed 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.”

Columbus attributes part of the issue to the use of wirework, which he feels detracts from the series’ signature pratfalls and slapstick humor, creating an inauthentic experience and a “false sense of the stunt.”

In a nostalgic twist, Macaulay Culkin, the original star, had a clever idea for a legacy sequel featuring Kevin as a parent. “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 shared during a segment of his tour.

Culkin is set to appear in Fallout season 2.