Macaulay Culkin Settles the Debate: ‘Die Hard’ Is Not a Christmas Movie

Macaulay Culkin may be Hollywood’s ultimate Christmas icon, but he’s making it clear where he stands on one of the internet’s longest-running film debates. According to the Home Alone star, Die Hard is not a Christmas movie — and he’s not backing down.

Culkin, who famously played Kevin McCallister in Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), weighed in during a recent interview with Mythical Kitchen. When asked whether the Bruce Willis-led action classic counts as a Christmas film, Culkin responded bluntly: “No, no it’s not. Don’t fight me!”

He explained that while Die Hard is set during Christmas, the holiday isn’t essential to the story. “It’s based around Christmas, but if it were also St. Patrick’s Day, it would still work,” Culkin said. “But you couldn’t do Home Alone on Memorial Day. It doesn’t work that way.”

Joking about his influence, Culkin added, “I’m the godfather of Christmas nowadays. My opinion has some sway in this argument.”

The question of whether Die Hard qualifies as a Christmas movie has divided fans for years. Some celebrities, including Elf star Zooey Deschanel, have embraced the action thriller as a holiday favorite. Deschanel recently said on the Call Her Daddy podcast that Die Hard is her favorite Christmas movie. Culkin, however, is firmly ruling it out.

Beyond the debate, Culkin has also sparked excitement among fans by hinting at a possible return to the Home Alone franchise. During his “A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin” tour, the actor said he “wouldn’t be completely allergic” to reprising his role as Kevin McCallister — but only if the idea was right.

Culkin even shared a potential sequel concept he’d be interested in. In his pitch, Kevin is now a widower or divorcee, raising a child while struggling to balance work and family life. One day, Kevin gets locked out of his own home — and this time, it’s his child who’s setting the traps. “He won’t let me in,” Culkin said, flipping the original story on its head.

However, original Home Alone director Chris Columbus is not on board with revisiting the franchise. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight in August, Columbus said a new sequel should never be made. “Home Alone really exists as this very special moment,” he said. “I think it’s a mistake to try to go back and recapture something we did 35 years ago. I think it should be left alone.”

For now, Culkin remains content as the unofficial judge of all things Christmas movies — and in his book, Die Hard doesn’t make the nice list.