This Is How Much the 1990 'Home Alone' Grocery Trip Would Cost in 2023

Macaulay Culkin

We’ve all watched Home Alone more times than we can count. Every year, we huddle around our screens to follow along as Kevin McCallister — played by the now 43-year-old Macaulay Culkin — navigates spending Christmas alone while his family is out of town for the holiday, and the hilarious chaos that ensues. While there are plenty of memorable moments from the 1990 film, one scene in particular has gained renewed interest from fans (and it’s not the one with the chicken suit.)

The scene that’s grabbing our attention is a less eventful one where Kevin goes grocery shopping and picks up a total of 10 items for less than $20. His haul includes a loaf of Wonder bread, a TV dinner, frozen mac and cheese, a half gallon of milk, a half gallon of orange juice, saran wrap, Tide laundry detergent, toilet paper, a bag of toy soldiers, and Snuggle brand dryer sheets. After using a $1 coupon for the orange juice, his total comes out to just $19.83.

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Of course, today’s economic landscape is a bit different than it was in 1990, and the grocery scene left fans to ponder one question: How much would all of that cost today? In a now-viral TikTok posted by @sellitlikelyons, the user decided to find out the answer and went to work hunting down the products at either Walmart or Target. The only item Lyons couldn’t find exactly was the TV dinner Kevin purchased in the film, which he substituted for a Hungry-Man Frozen Classic Chicken Dinner, currently selling for $4.99 at Target.

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After gathering all of the items, 2023’s grand total came out to a staggering $68! Lyons made sure to factor in $5.25 for tax and removed $1 from the total to simulate Kevin’s OJ coupon from the movie. If you’re crunching the numbers, that’s more than triple the price for the same items purchased in the film. And if we're being technical, it's $48.17 more, to be exact.

The TikTok garnered over 5.5 million views and thousands of comments from other users flabbergasted at the price jump. “I bet the cashier's wage is still the same in 2023 😂” quipped one person. “I spent $500 on groceries today and wanted to throw up on the street afterwards 😅” said another.

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It’s worth mentioning that prices could vary based on where you shop and what brands you typically go for, so it’s possible to get closer to the original price with some smart shopping. Regardless, the video is a revealing sign of how much more it costs to buy groceries today. Prices spiked to record highs during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and have continued to climb higher month after month.

While prices have increased, wages have stayed pretty much the same, and in a recent report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, food-at-home prices have increased a whopping 1.7 percent from November 2022 to November 2023.

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