Macaulay Culkin riled up the crowd at an event on Saturday when he proclaimed that Die Hard is not a Christmas movie.
The 45-year-old actor waded into the controversial debate at ‘A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin’ event, celebrating the 35th anniversary of his iconic holiday movie Home Alone, at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in California.
He was booed by the crowd after stating that classic 1988 action thriller Die Hard, which begins on Christmas Eve and stars Bruce Willis, ‘isn’t a Christmas movie’, according to People.
After hearing boos from the audience, he responded: ‘I know. Some of you guys want to fight me, I’ll meet you at the loading dock, but it’s just a movie that’s set at Christmas.’
‘If you set it at St. Patrick’s Day, the exact same movie. But you set Home Alone at St. Patrick’s Day…’ he added.
The debate started after the actor was asked about his favorite holiday films and shared: ‘A big one in our household growing up was A Christmas Story, certainly was always on.’
Macaulay Culkin, 45, was booed by the crowd at ‘A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin’ event when he made a controversial remark about the movie Die Hard; Culkin pictured 2024
He proclaimed that the classic 1988 action action thriller, which begins on Christmas Eve and stars Bruce Willis, ‘isn’t a Christmas movie’ at the event on Saturday; Willis seen in a still
‘A lost classic or one that people kind of forget: Scrooged…. Scrooged is awesome though. Yeah, we watch it all the time. Those were ones that really stick out,’ he went on.
Culkin added: ‘There’s some ones that come later. Elf is a really good one, but I wasn’t raised on Elf so it doesn’t have that nostalgia factor. And also, okay guys for real: Die Hard isn’t a Christmas movie.’
The status of Die Hard being a Christmas movie has been an ongoing debate among fans.
The opening scene of the film shows John McClane (Willis) arriving at LAX International Airport with a Christmas gift in hand, before heading into a holiday office party with his wife, whose name is Holly.
The film also features a lot of Christmas music, including Winter Wonderland, Let it Snow, Christmas in Hollis, and Ode to Joy.
However, leading man Willis, 70 — who retired from acting in 2022 amid his battle with dementia — himself famously weighed in on the issue in 2018.
During Comedy Central’s Roast of Bruce Willis, the star joked, ‘I did this roast for one reason and for one reason only, to settle something once and for all. Now, please listen very carefully: Die Hard is not a Christmas movie! It’s a goddamn Bruce Willis movie.’
But not all share that opinion.
After hearing boos from the audience, he said: ‘I know. Some of you guys want to fight me, I’ll meet you at the loading dock, but it’s just a movie that’s set at Christmas’; Seen in October
‘If you set it at St. Patrick’s Day, the exact same movie. But you set Home Alone at St. Patrick’s Day…’ he added, speaking of his iconic 1990 holiday film; Culkin seen in a still from Home Alone
Willis — who retired from acting in 2022 amid his dementia battle — weighed in on the issue in 2018, joking, ‘Die Hard is not a Christmas movie! It’s a goddamn Bruce Willis movie’
Die Hard writer Steven E. de Souza previously shared a different take, writing that it is a Christmas movie on X
Director John McTiernan told the American Film Institute in 2020: ‘We hadn’t intended it to be a Christmas movie, but the joy that came from it is what turned it into a Christmas movie.’
Die Hard writer Steven E. de Souza previously shared a different take.
In 2017 he responded to a tweet that read, ‘I’m sure you’ve weighed in on it before, but I’ve never heard you or Jeb Stuart offer your take on whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie.’
‘Yes, because the studio rejected the Purim draft #DieHardIsAChristmasMovie,’ he responded.
Other actors have also previously weighed in on the issue.
A Christmas Story star Peter Billingsley said he gave Die Hard cinematographer, Jan de Bont, a good reason while speaking to People in 2024: ‘I think what sold [de Bont] is I said, “That relationship between John McClane and his estranged wife, they’re fractured, but by the end, they learn to forgive each other. There’s hope, there’s joy, and they’re going to go and have a great Christmas morning with their kids.”‘
‘Not to mention there’s Christmas songs, and they have the snow falling. In my opinion it is a Christmas movie.’
Former child star Macaulay is currently on a Home Alone screening tour to celebrate the film’s 35th anniversary.
1990’s Home Alone catapulted a then 10-year-old Macaulay to fame, earning $476.7 million worldwide from just an $18 million budget.
The former child star is currently on a Home Alone screening tour to celebrate the film’s 35th anniversary
He would go on to star in other blockbusters including The Good Son, My Girl, The Nutcracker and Richie Rich before taking a near decade-long break from acting.
Promoting his screening tour on social media last week, the former child star wrote, ‘It’s different now that we’re older… Come watch the original ‘Home Alone’ with me.’
Engaging his 2.1 million Instagram followers, he added, ‘I’m going to tell you all stories, answer some of your questions, and even pull your kiddos on stage for some “trivia” if they are so inclined.’
Macaulay continued, ‘Why watch ‘Elf’ by yourself? Why watch ‘Grinch’ in a pinch?Why watch ‘Die Hard’ since it’s not a Christmas movie? (fight me).’
‘It’s a fun show. You’ll enjoy yourselves…I’d bet my turtle dove on it.’
