26 Years Later, Home Alone 3 Still Divides Fans

In 1997, the third installment of the Home Alone franchise hit theaters — and the sequel still divides fans 26 years later.

Home Alone 3 was the first in the franchise not to star Macaulay Culkin, whose portrayal of Kevin McAlister in the first two Home Alone films is beloved by fans to this day.

The third chapter was also overseen by a new director, Raja Gosnell, who took over the reins from Chris Columbus.

Following a strikingly similar plot to its predecessors, the movie follows the story of 8-year-old Alex Pruitt (played by Alex D Linz), who is forced to defend his home from a group of criminals who seek a computer chip they accidentally left in Alex’s toy car.

Also starring Haviland Morris, David Thornton, Olek Krupa, and a pre-Marvel Scarlett Johansson, Home Alone 3 was met with a lukewarm response from critics upon its release.

This was reflected in the film’s disappointing box office takings, which peaked at just $30.8 million.

By comparison, the first Home Alone has a lifetime gross of more than $285 million, while Home Alone 2: Lost in New York earned an impressive $173 million.

Despite its commercial and critical failure, the film is held in high regard by many, and Home Alone 3’s legacy as either a great or truly terrible sequel is still being debated almost 30 years on.

Fans Are Divided

Passionate Home Alone 3 discourse recently took off on X (formerly Twitter), with some fans declaring their love of the “underrated” sequel.

“Y’all are going to put some respect on Home Alone 3,” one fan proclaimed. “This was quality content!”

“Real ones know Home Alone 3 was great,” another chimed in, while one fan also claimed that some fans only dislike the third chapter “because it’s not Kevin.”

“Where has all this fake Home Alone 3 outrage come from?” asked another fan. “I thought we agreed the third one could never stand up to the original two, but she did what needed to be done for the next generation.”

“It’s A Terrible Movie”

However, others remain steadfast in their view that Home Alone 3 is the worst sequel in the franchise.

“Home Alone 3 is a terrible movie,” one X user bluntly declared. “As far as I know, there are only two Home Alone movies.”

Meanwhile, another user declared the recent spate of Home Alone 3 appreciation as “unhinged revisionist insanity,” adding: “Not everything that sucks is ‘secretly underrated.’ Sometimes things really are terrible and we all got it right the first time.”

While Home Alone 3 fans continue to debate its place in the franchise, it’s easy to forget that three straight-to-television sequels have been released in the decades following — including 2002’s Home Alone 4, 2012’s Home Alone: The Holiday Heist, and 2021’s Home Sweet Home Alone.