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It’s Christmas Eve!
Hello, Curse and Coffee friends,
Today, we explore an iconic Christmas movie.
Hit reply and let us know what you think (we read all of your kind words).
Coffee at the ready…
The Big Sip
The take: The highest-grossing live-action comedy ever made almost died over a budget dispute smaller than the catering bill.
What happened: On August 8, 1989, John Hughes jotted an idea in a notebook while packing for a family trip to Europe. Two weeks later, he turned "What if one kid got left behind?" into a 9-day writing sprint. Warner Bros. loved it (until the budget hit $14.7 million instead of $14 million). They shut down production. Fox picked it up the next day.
Why it matters: Home Alone grossed $476 million worldwide on an $18 million budget. It held the #1 box office spot for 12 consecutive weeks. Warner Bros. lost the franchise, the sequels, the merchandise, and the cultural moment (all because they wouldn't sign off on $700,000).
What to watch: The next time a studio kills a project over a rounding error. This pattern repeats.
Hughes wrote faster than most people read. Warner Bros penny-pinched their way out of half a billion.
Sponsor Break
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Here’s Your Brew
Risk tolerance.
Warner Bros. had the script. They had Hughes, fresh off Uncle Buck. They had Chris Columbus, a director they'd just lost from Christmas Vacation because Chevy Chase was "treating him like dirt." They had Macaulay Culkin, whom Hughes had already directed.
What they didn't have: the appetite for a $700,000 budget overrun.
Hughes had seen this coming.
Before Warner Bros. pulled the plug, he'd quietly sent a copy of the script to Fox — "clandestinely," according to producer Scott Rosenfelt, bypassing legal restrictions.
When WB shut down production on a Friday, Fox had a deal by Monday. The crew showed up to find Fox T-shirts waiting on set.
Home Alone stayed #1 at the box office for 12 weeks. It remained in the top 10 until June (seven months after release).
It became the highest-grossing live-action comedy in history and held that record for 27 years.
Warner Bros. got its $700,000 back.
Fox got a franchise.
Two Sides, One Mug
→ Pro-WB: Studios have fiduciary duties. Budget discipline prevents runaway costs. Most films that exceed budget don't become Home Alone.
→ Pro-risk: The upside was uncapped. The downside was $700,000 (institutional cowardice).
→ Our read: Warner Bros. didn't make a bad decision. They made a decision that looked reasonable on every spreadsheet except the one that mattered.
Receipt of the Day
Source: John Hughes, TIME Magazine interview, 1990
"I was going away on vacation and making a list of everything I didn't want to forget. I thought, 'Well, I'd better not forget my kids.' Then I thought, 'What if I left my 10-year-old son at home? What would he do?'"
Why it matters: The biggest ideas hide in the smallest anxieties. Hughes turned traveller dread into a cultural phenomenon. The creative leap wasn't genius (it was the follow-through).
Spit Take
"Nine days to write. 12 weeks at #1. 27-year record."
Your Coffee Break Links (and water cooler chatter)
📎 The complete oral history: James Hughes compiled the definitive account for Chicago Magazine's 25th anniversary piece. Director, cast, crew — everyone's here. Worth the long read. (Chicago Magazine)
📎 How Chevy Chase's ego created Chris Columbus's career: Columbus dropped Christmas Vacation because Chase "treated him like dirt." Two weeks later, Hughes sent him the Home Alone script. One door closes. (E! Online)
📎 The $500 million mistake, explained: A good breakdown of how Warner Bros. lost the film and what it cost them in franchise value. Spoiler: a lot. (Substack)
Join your team of caffeinated skeptics.
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What's the bigger lesson here?
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We’re taking a Christmas break.
A big thank you for your support, and wishing you and your family a merry Christmas!
For the love of coffee (and gifts), see you on Monday!
Enjoy your Christmas (Keep it caffeinated).
🎁 🎄 🌟
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