Laura Harman
Published November 25, 2025 2:59pm
Updated November 25, 2025 2:59pm
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Macaulay Culkin was booed after sharing a controversial comment (Picture: Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Macaulay Culkin was booed this weekend after he shared a controversial view on the festive season.
The actor, 45, has become a festive icon over the years, after appearing as a child in the classic films Home Alone and Home Alone 2.
However, he managed to elicit some boos after speaking at A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin, an event celebrating the 35th anniversary of Home Alone, on Saturday, Nov. 22.
The event took place at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in Long Beach, California, and saw the former child actor asked about his favourite holiday films.
Per People, the actor said of his festive favourites: ‘A big one in our household growing up was A Christmas Story, certainly was always on. 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.
‘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.
He then lost the crowd as he commented: ‘And also, okay guys for real: Die Hard isn’t a Christmas movie.’
The star came to fame as Kevin McCallister (Picture: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)
Macaulay returned to the role in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York in the 90s (Picture: 20thC.Fox/Everett/REX)
Fans in the crowd immediately booed the star, but Macaulay only doubled down on his views.
‘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.
He then argued: ‘If you set it at St. Patrick’s Day, the exact same movie. But you set Home Alone at St. Patrick’s Day…’
This is a debate that has been going on for years, with many fans of the film calling it a festive favourite, and even those who worked on the film insisting it’s a Christmas movie.
Die Hard writer Steven E. de Souza said on X that the film was a Christmas movie.
Bruce Willis starred in the 1988 film (Picture: 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images)
In 2017, he responded to a tweet reading: ‘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.
In 2018, the star of the film, Bruce Willis, even jokingly argued that it wasn’t a Christmas movie.
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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.’
Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?
The opening scene of the film shows John McClane (Bruce Willis) arriving at LAX International Airport with a Christmas gift in hand.
The plot also takes place at his estranged wife Holly’s office Christmas Eve party at an LA skyscraper.
The film features a lot of Christmas music, including Winter Wonderland, Let it Snow, Christmas in Hollis, and Ode to Joy. And the set design is littered with festive decorations and Santa Clauses.
A lot of jokes and dialogue is centred around Christmas, including a dead body in a lift with ‘Ho ho ho’ written on his chest.
However, the film is an action movie, centring around McClane’s one-man mission to save his wife and her colleagues. The primary focus is on action, not festive good cheer.
The tone isn’t heartwarming, as is a classic trope in festive films, and arguably, the Christmas season works primarily as a plot device, explaining why all of these people would be in this building at once.
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A Christmas Story star Peter Billingsley said he gave Die Hard cinematographer Jan de Bont, a good reason to believe it’s a festive movie when he appeared on his podcast.
He told 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.”‘
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‘Not to mention there are Christmas songs, and they have the snow falling. In my opinion, it is a Christmas movie.’
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