Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

Numerous video games based on Home Alone 2 were released by THQ for such systems as the Sega Genesis, the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy and personal computers, mostly in late 1992. A separate hand-held game was released by Tiger Electronics. Numerous board games were also released, some based around play cards, while another was a close emulation of the classic Mouse Trap.[10][11]

The Talkboy cassette recorder was produced as a tie-in for the movie by Tiger Electronics based on specifications provided by John Hughes and the movie studio, and sold particularly well after the film was released on home video.[12][13] Additional promotional partners included American Airlines in which the McCallisters make their trip on the airline's two Boeing 767-200s, The Coca-Cola Company, Jack in the Box, Hardee's, and Roy Rogers Restaurants.[14]

The film was first released by Fox Video on VHS and LaserDisc on July 27, 1993. It was later released on DVD on October 5, 1999 as a basic package.[15] The film was released on Blu-ray on October 6, 2009 with no special features,[16] and was released alongside Home Alone in a collection pack on October 5, 2010.[17] The film was reissued again on DVD and Blu-ray on October 6, 2015, alongside all five Home Alone franchise films, titled Home Alone: 25th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Christmas Edition.[18]

Home Alone 2 opened to $31.1 million from 2,222 theaters, averaging $14,008 per site.[19] While it started off better than Home Alone, grossing $100 million in 24 days compared to 33 days for the original,[7] the final box office gross was lower with $173.6 million in the United States and Canada and a worldwide total of $359 million,[3] compared to $476 million for the first film.[20] The film was released in the United Kingdom on December 11, 1992, and topped the country's box office that weekend.[21] The film is the third highest-grossing film released in 1992 behind The Bodyguard and Aladdin.[22] In the United States and Canada, it grossed more than The Bodyguard and ranked second.[23]

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 33% based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 4/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "A change of venue – and more sentimentality and violence – can't obscure the fact that Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is a less inspired facsimile of its predecessor."[24] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.[25]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two out of four stars and stated that "cartoon violence is only funny in cartoons. Most of the live-action attempts to duplicate animation have failed, because when flesh-and-blood figures hit the pavement, we can almost hear the bones crunch, and it isn't funny."[26] Kenneth Turan, reviewing for the Los Angeles Times, claims "Whatever was unforced and funny in the first film has become exaggerated here, whatever was slightly sentimental has been laid on with a trowel. The result, with some exceptions, plays like an over-elaborate parody of the first film, reminding us why we enjoyed it without being able to duplicate its appeal."[27] Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune wrote the sequel "plays like a coarsened, self-parodying version of the original, in which the fantasy elements have become grubbier and more materialistic, the sentimentality more treacly and aggressive, and the slapstick violence—already astonishingly intense in the first film—even more graphic and sadistic." He further criticized the violence by invoking that "Rather than laughs, it provokes gasps of sympathy and amazement, even among the children in the audience. The pleasures here are entirely cruel, with an unhealthy concentration on the suffering of the victims, on the thudding impact of various objects against their heads, on their howls of agony."[28]

Janet Maslin for The New York Times acknowledged that "Home Alone 2 may be lazily conceived, but it is staged with a sense of occasion and a lot of holiday cheer. The return of Mr. Culkin in this role is irresistible, even if this utterly natural comic actor has been given little new to do. Mr. Pesci and Mr. Stern bring great gusto to their characters' stupidity, to the point where they are far funnier just walking and talking than they are being hurt."[29] Reviewing for Time, Richard Schickel noted "Home Alone 2 precisely follows the formula that made its predecessor the biggest grossing comedy in human history. But no, it is not a drag, and it is not a rip-off. Look on it as a twice-told fairy tale." He praised Hughes and Chris Columbus and felt "the details of the situations are developed vividly and originally. And they are presented with an energy and a conviction that sequels usually lack."[30]

Original Score

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – Original Score is a 1992 soundtrack composed by John Williams, who also scored the first installment in the franchise. While the soundtrack is mostly a repeat of the first film's material,[31] there are a few new prominent themes such as "Christmas Star" and "Plaza Hotel and Duncan's Toy Store". Ultimately, the soundtrack fell out of print.

1. "Somewhere in My Memory" (3:49)
2. "Home Alone" (2:01)
3. "We Overslept Again" (2:46)
4. "Christmas Star" (3:18)
5. "Arrival in New York" (1:41)
6. "Plaza Hotel and Duncan's Toy Store" (3:45)
7. "Concierge and Race to the Room" (2:04)
8. "Star of Bethlehem" (3:28)
9. "The Thieves Return" (4:35)
10. "Appearance of Pigeon Lady" (3:19)
11. "Christmas at Carnegie Hall" ("O Come All Ye Faithful" / "O Little Town of Bethlehem" / "Silent Night") (5:02)
12. "Into the Park" (3:49)
13. "Haunted Brownstone" (3:01)
14. "Christmas Star and Preparing the Trap" (4:17)
15. "To the Plaza Presto" (3:22)
16. "Reunion at Rockefeller Center" (2:36)
17. "Kevin's Booby Traps" (3:41)
18. "Finale" (3:55)
19. "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas" (2:51)

Original Soundtrack Album

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[32]

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – Original Soundtrack Album is a 1992 soundtrack album that contains music from or inspired by Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The album eventually was discontinued and later re-released as Home Alone Christmas in 1997 by Sony BMG with an alternative track listing. Both versions feature tracks of John Williams' score, though the tracks are of different songs between the original album and its re-release.

Original Soundtrack Album track listing

1. "All Alone on Christmas" (4:14) (Darlene Love)
2. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (2:14) (Alan Jackson)
3. "Somewhere in My Memory" (3:58) (Bette Midler, composed by John Williams, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse)
4. "My Christmas Tree" (2:35) (Home Alone Children's Choir, composed by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman)
5. "Sleigh Ride" (3:44) (TLC)
6. "Silver Bells" (4:15) (Atlantic Starr)
7. "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas" (2:40) (John Williams)
8. "Jingle Bell Rock" (2:09) (Bobby Helms)
9. "Cool Jerk (Christmas Mix)" (2:39) (The Capitols)
10. "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (2:14) (Johnny Mathis)
11. "Christmas Star" (3:16) (John Williams)
12. "O Come All Ye Faithful" (3:26) (Lisa Fischer)

Home Alone Christmas track listing

1. "All Alone on Christmas" (Darlene Love)
2. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (Alan Jackson)
3. "My Christmas Tree" (The Fox Albert Choir)
4. "Somewhere in My Memory" (John Williams)
5. "Silver Bells" (Atlantic Starr)
6. "Sleigh Ride" (TLC)
7. "Christmas All Over Again" (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
8. "Please Come Home for Christmas" (Southside Johnny Lyon)
9. "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas" (John Williams)
10. "Carol of the Bells" (John Williams)
11. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Mel Torme)
12. "O Come All Ye Faithful" (Lisa Fischer)

The Deluxe Edition

On the film's tenth anniversary, Varèse Sarabande released a two-disc special edition soundtrack entitled Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – The Deluxe Edition. The soundtrack contains John Williams' cues found on the previous releases as well as additional compositions that were left out from the final film. This release is also known for resolving a mastering error that caused the music to be inaccurately pitched.[33][34]

Disc One

1. Home Alone (Main Title) (2:07)
2. This Year's Wish (1:47)
3. We Overslept Again / Holiday Flight (3:19)
4. Separate Vacations*(1:58)
5. Arrival in New York**(2:59)
6. The Thieves Return (3:28)
7. Plaza Hotel (3:04)
8. Concierge (1:31)
9. Distant Goodnights (Christmas Star) (Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse) (2:05)
10. A Day in the City (:59)
11. Duncan's Toy Store (2:41)
12. Turtle Doves (1:29)
13. To the Plaza, Presto (3:27)
14. Race to the Room / Hot Pursuit (4:08)
15. Haunted Brownstone (3:02)
16. Appearance of the Pigeon Lady (3:21)
17. Christmas at Carnegie Hall (5:15) O Come, All Ye Faithful / O Little Town of Bethlehem / Silent Night

Disc Two

1. Christmas Star – Preparing the Trap (Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse) (4:22)
2. Another Christmas in the Trenches (2:33)
3. Running Through Town (1:16)
4. Luring the Thieves*(4:02)
5. Kevin's Booby Traps (7:23)
6. Down the Rope / Into the Park (5:06)
7. Reunion at Rockefeller Center / It's Christmas (5:21)
8. Finale (2:00)
9. We Wish You a Merry Christmas (Traditional) and Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas (Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse) (2:51)
10. End Title (1:32)
11. Holiday Flight (alternate) (2:32)
12. Suite from "Angels with Filthy Souls II" (:56)
13. Somewhere in My Memory (Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse) (3:57)
14. Star of Bethlehem (Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse) (3:32)
15. Christmas Star (Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse) (3:23)
16. Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas (orchestra) (2:23)