Home Alone 4: Taking Back The House

Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (also known as Home Alone 4) is a 2002 Christmas family comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and starring Mike Wienberg, French Stewart, Missi Pyle, and others. It is the fourth installment in the Home Alone franchise. Unlike Home Alone 3, the film brings back Kevin McAllister's character, family, and enemies Harry and Marv, albeit with different actors. It is the final film Daniel directed before his retirement and eventually his death in 2016. Produced on a budget of $7 million, it is the least expensive film in the franchise.

The film was released on November 22, 2002, and was panned by critics, who criticized the plot, humor, acting, production values. The film is often called one of the worst films of all time. Despite this, the film was a modest box office success, grossing $35 million worldwide. The film was followed by a sequel, Home Alone: The Holiday Heist, in 2012.

Box office
In the United States and Canada, the film opened alongside Die Another Day and was projected to gross $15-20 million from 1,800 theaters. After making $2 million on its first day, including $200,000 from Thursday night previews, projections were lowered to $10 million. The film ended up grossing $6 million, finishing seventh and well below projections. In its second weekend, the film grossed $2.5 million, finishing tenth.

Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 3% based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 2.9/10. The site's consensus reads, "With unfunny gags, horrific acting, and a tired plot, Home Alone 4 is much worse than the cash-grab it was meant to be." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 11 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare grade of "F" on a scale of A to F.