Most movie franchises suffer from the 'Curse of the Third.'
Basically, it means that after 1 and 2 are huge hits, the 3rd one is likely to flop.
Of course, it's not an absolute rule since some films break the curse or at least do okay.
So, what about the movie we're talking about today?
Is Home Alone 3 the former or the latter?
Home Alone—it's probably the movie you'll be watching at home again this Christmas.
The first film was a massive success, earning $280 million in the US alone and becoming the #1 box office hit of 1990.
The second film was also a mega-hit, raking in $350 million worldwide.
However, since both the box office and reviews for Part 2 dropped compared to the original...
Director Chris Columbus decided not to film a third installment.
But Raja Gosnell, the editor of parts 1 and 2, still had a lingering desire for a sequel.
He decided to take the director's chair himself.
He brought in John Hughes, the screenwriter for 1 and 2, to pen the script.
Then they tried to cast the MVP of the series, Macaulay Culkin as Kevin.
Even though Culkin had aged quite a bit by then...
The crew felt that just having him back as Kevin would guarantee 100% success, so casting him was the top priority. But this is where things started to get messy.
Exhausted by family issues and a string of box office failures...
Macaulay Culkin essentially retired from acting after 'Richie Rich' in 1994.
For context, Culkin returned as an actor in the 2000s and recently voiced Gary Kingsley in Zootopia 2.
So, the crew had no choice but to search for a new child actor.
After auditions, they settled on Alex D. Linz.
In this situation, John, the screenwriter, made a suggestion to Raja: 'Let's keep the foundation but change everything else.' 'What do you mean?' 'Basically, the foundation of parts 1 and 2 is...'
A young child left home alone.
Who encounters two thieves.
And stops their crimes using various traps.
The Christmas setting is the cherry on top.
'So for Part 3, let's keep those basics and change everything else. The protagonist, the family, and the thieves.' 'Will that work?' 'Audiences won't accept a Kevin who isn't Culkin anyway. Plus, Part 2 got trashed for being too similar to the first one. Isn't a fresh start better?' 'True, you've got a point.'
In the actual movie, the protagonist's name is Alex, not Kevin.
The family consists of just the dad, mom, brother, and sister.
And the thieves aren't the original duo; there are four of them. Meanwhile, the crew decided to add one more thing: 'Let's scale it up.' 'Huh?' 'How many traps were in 1 and 2?'
Part 1 had a little over 10. Part 2 had about 20. So Part 3? Oh. In reality, Part 3 features over 30 traps. Filming started in December '96, and it was released a year later for the '97 Christmas season.
"The community generally agrees that Home Alone 3 is actually a solid movie that gets too much hate just for not having Culkin, especially compared to the 'fire starter' sequels (4, 5, and 6) that followed. People are also geeking out over Culkin's recent Zootopia 2 casting alongside Brenda Song."
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