Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals: Every 'Home Alone' movie, definitively ranked

A faux trailer for a "Home Alone 3" movie with Macaulay Culkin got fans hyped to hear that iconic scream again. But here's the thing: There's already a "Home Alone 3." And a fourth and fifth movie. And even a sixth one, a reboot, that premiered during the pandemic that kinda sorta tied in with the first "Home Alone."

Thanks to a mix of big-screen projects, TV movies and streaming jams, "Home Alone" is a more sizable franchise than you might expect. Let's be real, though: It never got better than the OG, with Culkin at his best as Kevin McAllister, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern as lovably dim crooks Harry and Marv and a great John Williams score. And if you want to catch up on the others, or just watch the first one over and over, they're all now streaming for your Yuletide pleasure on Disney+.

Tis the season for giving, so we're gifting you with rankings of every "Home Alone" movie, from worst to best:

6. 'Home Alone 4' (2002)

This travesty commits the cardinal sin of (gasp!) replacing Culkin's iconic performance with some other kid's. Mike Weinberg plays Kevin, who's invited to the mansion where his divorced dad and his new rich girlfriend live. The 9-year-old enjoys the high life, but breaks out the booby traps when Marv (French Stewart, taking over for Stern) and wife sidekick Vera (Missi Pyle) try breaking in. This is steaming hot garbage to be avoided at all costs.

5. 'Home Alone: The Holiday Heist' (2012)

The fifth installment is one of the few to venture away from the McAllister family. Christian Martyn and Jodelle Ferland are the youngsters who move with their parents to a supposedly haunted house, and when their parents leave them home alone to attend a soiree, a group of thieves (including two played by Malcolm McDowell and Debi Mazar) come a-calling, looking for a valuable Edvard Munch painting. Sure, you could watch McDowell getting attacked by Christmas wrapping paper and goo or just watch his much better "A Clockwork Orange" instead.

4. 'Home Alone 3' (1997)

In another non-McAllister narrative, Alex D. Linz is honestly not that terrible as Alex Pruitt, a Chicago 8-year-old who's gifted a remote-control toy car by a neighbor. As it turns out, that little vehicle contains a $10 million high-tech microchip wanted by a quartet of international thieves. Cue the many injuries Alex gleefully doles out on the invading baddies. (This "Home Alone" is also noteworthy for being one of Scarlett Johansson's early roles, as Alex's older sister Molly.)

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3. 'Home Sweet Home Alone' (2021)

The decent sixth movie sticks mostly to the "Home" template, with plenty of Easter eggs for old fans, but goes its merry own way with "Jojo Rabbit" breakout Archie Yates. The chubby-cheeked British youngster plays Max, a boy who's left by himself at his palatial home when his large family jets off to Tokyo. The foes this time around get a story of their own: Ellie Kemper and Rob Delaney are a couple desperate to keep their own house who break into Max's home to retrieve a valuable heirloom. But they're ill-prepared for the youngster's plan to fight back.

2. 'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York' (1992)

The first sequel finds Culkin's Kevin detoured to the Big Apple while the rest of his family ends up in Florida. The boy's got his dad's credit card, though, so he lives it up at the Plaza Hotel and runs into Harry and Marv, fresh out of prison and seeking revenge on the kiddo. Cameos by future criminally indicted presidents aside, the flick's not half bad, and it's always a treat to see the legendary Tim Curry, who has a supporting role as a smarmy, antagonistic hotel concierge.

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1. 'Home Alone' (1990)

Culkin is unfailingly precocious in the original holiday comedy hit, which finds Kevin left at home when his very large family forgets to bring him on vacation and his mom (Catherine O'Hara) only realizes it when they're halfway to Paris. Kevin enjoys his freedom before Harry and Marv drop by to make his holiday more interesting. Watching an 8-year-old foil a pair of clueless adult burglars and viciously torture them in inventive fashion is fine and all. What's often forgotten amid the shenanigans, however, is what the film has to say about the importance of family.

And don't forget: Have a merry Christmas, ya filthy animals.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Home Alone': Every movie, ranked (including Macaulay Culkin original)