What Is Macaulay Culkin's Net Worth, Salary, and Career Earnings?
Macaulay Culkin is an American actor who has a net worth of $18 million. Macaulay Culkin became a household name after starring in a string of early smash-hit films in the 1990s, most notably "Home Alone," "Home Alone 2: Lost In New York," "My Girl," "Richie Rich," "Uncle Buck," and "The Good Son."
At the peak of his career, Culkin was one of the highest-paid and most powerful actors, child or adult, in the entire movie business. We detail his salaries for his most significant films in the next section below.
Culkin took time off from acting in the late 1990s and early 2000s but has since begun appearing again in television and film roles and independent films. Macaulay has been the subject of dozens of erroneous tabloid stories about his life over the years. The media just can't seem to grasp that he is a fairly normal adult who has chosen to live his life privately, away from Hollywood and magazine front pages. Fellow actor and childhood friend Seth Green is a frequent defender of Macaualay, aka Mac. In an interview on Marc Maron's podcast, Green insisted that Mac simply does not care about what the news media says about him. Culkin is apparently happy to live a life with millions of dollars in the bank away from the spotlight.
Macaulay Culkin Salary Per Movie
For his first major movie, 1989's "Uncle Buck," Culkin made $40,000. One year later, he shot into stardom thanks to "Home Alone," for which he was paid $100,000. The film made him a household name, and for the next four years, he was a seven-figure movie star.
In 1991, he made $1 million for "My Girl." In 1992, he earned $4.5 million to reprise his role in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York." Following this success, he actually accepted a pay cut down to $1.5 million to appear in the 1993 thriller "The Good Son."
Then, 1994 came, and with it, the peak of Culkin's earning power as a movie star. First was the film "Getting Even with Dad," which earned him $8 million, a sum he earned again for the live-action cartoon adaptation "Richie Rich."
Altogether, those seven films between 1989 and 1994 earned Culkin a total of $23.5 million, which, with inflation, is comparable to $40 million or so today.
- "Uncle Buck" (1989): $40 thousand
- "Home Alone" (1990): $100 thousand
- "My Girl" (1991): $1 million
- "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" (1992): $4.5 million
- "The Good Son" (1993): $1.5 million
- "Getting Even with Dad" (1994): $8 million
- "Ri¢hie Ri¢h" (1994): $8 million
Total: $23.5 million
Earning $23.5 million between 1989 and 1994 is the same as earning $40 million today after adjusting for inflation.
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Early Life
Macaulay Culkin was born Macaulay Carson Culkin on August 26, 1980, in Manhattan, New York City. His father, Christopher Culkin, is a former Broadway actor. His mother, Patricia Brentrup, and his father never married. Macaulay was named after Thomas Babington Macaulay. Culkin is one of seven children, and a few of his siblings are also actors. Culkin went to a Catholic school, St. Joseph's School of Yorkville, for five years before attending the Professional Children's School.
Career
Macaulay Culkin began working in the entertainment industry at age four, taking parts in small theatre productions and made-for-TV movies, as well as small television and film roles. One of his still-memorable performances from this time was starring alongside John Candy in John Hughes' 1989 film "Uncle Buck."
Culkin's breakthrough came in 1990 when he was cast as Kevin McCallister in another John Hughes flick, "Home Alone." Culkin was nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Actor and he won an American Comedy Award and Young Artist Award. The following year, Culkin starred in a Saturday morning cartoon series called "Wish Kid." He also hosted "Saturday Night Live" and made an appearance in Michael Jackson's "Black or White" music video. Later in 1991, he starred opposite Anna Chlumsky in "My Girl." In 1992, Culkin was paid $4.5 million dollars to reprise the role of Kevin in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York." To compare, he was only compensated $110,000 for the original "Home Alone" flick. Culkin turned to a darker role in 1993 when he starred as Henry in the drama-thriller "The Good Son." He was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Villian for his role. Surprisingly, Culkin had also been a student at the School of American Ballet and starred in a filmed version of "The Nutcracker." In 1994, after Culkin had a string of poor box office performers with "Getting Even with Dad," "The Pagemaster," and "Richie Rich," he took a four-year hiatus from acting and attended a private high school in NYC.
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After Acting Hiatus
In 1998, Culkin made his return to acting when he appeared in a music video for Sonic Youth's "Sunday." Two years later, he took a role in the play "Madame Melville" in London's West End. In 2003, Culkin returned to films with a dark role in "Party Monster," in which he played drug user and murderer Michael Alig. The following year, he had a supporting role in "Saved!" starring Jenna Malone and Mandy Moore. The movie was a sleeper hit, and Culkin got glowing reviews for his performance. He also did voice work in Seth Green's animated television show "Robot Chicken." In 2006, Culkin published a semi-autobiographical novel, Junior, which discussed his stardom and his shaky relationship with his father. In the fall of 2007, Culkin starred in his first film since "Saved!," the dark comedy "Sex and Breakfast." Up next, Culkin starred in a thirteen-episode NBC series, "Kings." In 2011, Culkin was featured in Adam Green's experimental film "The Wrong Ferarri." The film was shot completely on an iPhone. In December 2013, a video that Culkin co-produced and directed of himself eating a cheese pizza went viral on YouTube. The video was meant to be a parody of Andy Warhol consuming a Burger King Whopper in the documentary "66 Scenes from America." It turned out to be a promotion for the debut of The Pizza Underground, his New York-based, pizza-themed comedy rock band. In May 2014, during a UK tour, he stormed off the stage during a performance with his band during his own kazoo solo after fans started to boo and throw pints of beer on stage. They canceled the remainder of the UK shows. In 2016, Culkin announced The Pizza Underground was splitting up.
In 2019, Culkin had a part in Seth Green's film "Changeland." It was announced in February 2020 that Culkin would be part of the cast of the upcoming tenth season of "American Horror Story."
Culkin is the publisher and CEO of a satirical pop culture website and podcast, a parody of "Goop" called "Bunny Ears."
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Google Ad
Following the break up with the band, Culkin produced web content and a podcast and has appeared in various TV ads. Most notable of the television ads was one for Google Assistant in 2018, in which he reprised his role of Kevin from "Home Alone" and recreated scenes from the movie, with Kevin, obviously, being 28 years older than he was in the first film.
Macaulay was paid $1 million to appear in this commercial.
Personal Life
Mac was previously engaged to Mila Kunis but they broke it off. He was married to actress Rachel Miner from 1998 to 2002. Since 2017, Culkin has been in a relationship with his "Changeland" co-star Brenda Song. They welcomed a son, Dakota, on April 5, 2021. The couple named their son after Macaulay's sister Dakota, who died in 2008 after being hit by a car. The couple welcomed a second child in December 2022.
Real Estate
Macaulay owns apartments in New York City and Paris. He has owned his New York City apartment since the early 2000s.
In August 2022, Song and Culkin paid $8 million for Kiefer Sutherland's home in the Toluca Lake area of Los Angeles. Built in 1935, the 4,879-square-foot home includes five bedrooms and six bathrooms, and the .6-acre property features a swimming pool, a putting green, and a terrace with a fireplace and pergola. This purchase coincided with the couple selling their single-story build in Los Angeles after listing it for $3.25 million.
