There are six Home Alone films. In order: Home Alone (1990), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Home Alone 3 (1997), Home Alone 4 (2002, made for TV), Home Alone: The Holiday Heist (2012, made for TV) and Home Sweet Home Alone (2021, made for Disney+).
The first two star Macaulay Culkin, and they are the ones most people mean when they say "Home Alone". Home Alone 3 and The Holiday Heist start again with new families. Home Alone 4 goes back to the original family with a whole new cast. Home Sweet Home Alone is a 2021 reboot with a new family and a returning face: Devin Ratray returns as the original boy’s older brother, as Disney confirms.
| # | Film | Year | Made for | UK certificate | Set at Christmas? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Home Alone | 1990 | Cinema | PG | Yes |
| 2 | Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | 1992 | Cinema | PG | Yes |
| 3 | Home Alone 3 | 1997 | Cinema | PG | No, it's set after Christmas |
| 4 | Home Alone 4 | 2002 | US television | U | Yes |
| 5 | Home Alone: The Holiday Heist | 2012 | US television | PG | Yes |
| 6 | Home Sweet Home Alone | 2021 | Disney+ | PG | Yes |
Certificates are the BBFC's. Home Alone 4 and The Holiday Heist never played UK cinemas, so theirs come from their home-entertainment releases.
The two everyone means: Home Alone and Lost in New York
Home Alone · Film guide →Home Alone reached UK cinemas on 7 December 1990. Culkin plays the eight-year-old left behind when his family flies to Paris, with Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern as the burglars and Catherine O'Hara as the mother trying to get back to him. It scores 88/100 Festive Factor. The first half takes the loneliness seriously, and then the film turns into a cartoon, a very good one. Chris Columbus directed and John Hughes wrote it, and if you only watch one Home Alone film this December, it's this one.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York · Film guide →Lost in New York is the same film again in a bigger city, and it gets away with it. Same director, same writer, same four leads, plus Tim Curry. It is longer, louder and the traps are meaner, but the stretch in the hotel is pure wish fulfilment and hard to dislike. It scores 83/100 Festive Factor. If the first film is the fixture, this is the one you put on the night after, and nobody minds. It was back in UK cinemas in 2018.
Home Alone 3: a new family, same idea
Home Alone 3 · Film guide →Five years on, Hughes wrote a third film without Culkin or any of the original cast. Alex D. Linz plays a boy off school with chickenpox who ends up with something a gang of international criminals badly want back, so they come for the house. Raja Gosnell directed it, and a young Scarlett Johansson is in the cast.
It is the odd one out in one important way: it isn't a Christmas film. The story happens after the holidays, with the other children back at school. The traps are all there. The festive part isn't. We'd call it a winter film with a Christmas surname.
On its own terms it is better than its reputation. The crooks are more competent than the first two films' pair, which gives the traps something to push against, and Linz is a likeable lead. It is still a lesser film, and an easy one to skip in December, when there are better Christmas films to spend the evening on.
Home Alone 4: the original family, a new cast
Home Alone 4 · Film guide →This one went straight to American television in 2002, and it returns to the family from the first two films with every part recast. Mike Weinberg plays the boy, with French Stewart and Missi Pyle among the grown-ups. This time he is spending Christmas at his dad's girlfriend's house, which is where the trouble starts.
It is the shortest of the six, at roughly 85 minutes, depending on the edition, and it looks like the TV film it is. It's also the only one of the six rated U, with the BBFC noting mild comic violence. That is a useful guide to its content, though the family conflict may still matter to younger viewers.
The Holiday Heist: the one most people have never heard of
Plenty of people who know the first two by heart have no idea there's a fifth film. Made for US television in 2012, it follows a new boy (Christian Martyn) whose family has just moved across the country. When his parents get snowed in at a party, he and his sister have the new house to themselves, and three hapless crooks led by Malcolm McDowell try to break in.
Peter Hewitt directed it, the same director behind The Borrowers (1997). McDowell is clearly enjoying himself, and Ed Asner turns up too. It's a PG, for a handful of mild swear words and some slapstick. It won't change anyone's Christmas. For children who have worn out the originals, though, it's the same premise with fresh faces, and that is often enough.
Home Sweet Home Alone: the 2021 reboot
The sixth film went straight to Disney+ in November 2021. Archie Yates, the best friend in Jojo Rabbit, plays the boy left behind when his family heads to Japan for the holidays. Dan Mazer directed it, with Ellie Kemper and Rob Delaney as a married couple trying to steal back a valuable heirloom they believe he has.
That is the reboot's one real idea: the people trying to get into the house aren't really villains. It makes them easier to feel for, and the traps harder to enjoy. John Hughes still gets a story credit, 31 years after the first film. Critics were not kind to it. Yates is good company, but the elaborate traps make it worth checking the content advice for a younger viewer.
Which order to watch them in
Release order is the simplest answer, and the table at the top is it. None of the six needs the others, though. Home Alone 2 picks up the first film's family a year on, and Home Alone 4 borrows that family again. The third and fifth start with new families. The sixth also tells a new story, but the returning older brother gives it a small connection to the originals.
For most households the honest order is shorter: Home Alone, then Home Alone 2, and stop there unless someone asks for more. As a double bill that's about three and three-quarter hours, so it's a Saturday afternoon rather than a school night.
With younger children, the certificates help. Five of the six are PG. Home Alone 4 is the only U. The first two have more genuine peril than people remember, and the basement in the original frightens small children more than adults tend to expect.
How many Home Alone films are worth watching?
The first two remain our strongest recommendations. Home Alone, Lost in New York, Home Alone 3 and Home Alone 4 now have scored, published film pages; that does not mean we recommend all four equally.
The other four are for completists and for children who have seen the first two so often that anything with the same premise feels like a treat. The later films are at different stages in our catalogue, so we are keeping this viewing recommendation separate from a complete scored ranking.
Where to watch the Home Alone films in the UK
Home Alone FAQs
How many Home Alone films are there?
Six: Home Alone (1990), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Home Alone 3 (1997), Home Alone 4 (2002), Home Alone: The Holiday Heist (2012) and Home Sweet Home Alone (2021).
Which Home Alone films have Macaulay Culkin in them?
Only the first two. He doesn't appear in any of the later films.
Is Home Alone 3 a Christmas film?
Not really. It's set after the holidays, and it's the only one of the six that isn't set around Christmas.
Is there a Home Alone film rated U?
Yes, one. Home Alone 4 is a U. The other five are all PG.
Can I watch every Home Alone movie on Disney+ in the UK?
Availability varies by title. Check each current UK listing before planning a marathon.
