In the film Home Alone the pizzas cost $12. This was 25 years ago.
How much do pizzas cost in the USA now?
How much is $12 in 1990 compared to now?
With delivery, around me a medium 14" cheese and sausage averages around $16 (without tipping the driver).
Put more toppings on it and it can easily hit $22.
Most chain pizzas cost about 12 bucks for a large one topping. Sometimes they’ll put them on special for $9.99. So, pizza prices haven’t changed all that much.
Keep in mind whoever wrote the $12 price tag for the movie probably lived in an area with expensive pizza. That same person might be paying 20-25 today.
In 1990 I remember being able to get pizza’s for 5-7 bucks. Domino’s had like a 3 pizza for 5 dollars each deal. You had to spend the 7 bucks a pie at better place to get something that actually resembled pizza.
Actually, Little Caesar’s has a deal on large pizzas for $5 each after 4 PM.
And the characters in the film were fairly upscale too (evidenced by the size of the house, not to mention their vacation).
It’s $21.80 in 2014 dollars.
Out of curiosity I checked Domino’s website. A large 10 slice pizza delivered, costs around £17.00 ($27). The delivery guy would not be expecting much of a tip and many people would not tip at all.
Wow. You’re in England, aren’t you? I was just on the Dominos website and for me, an extra-large 16" pizza would be $11.99. With tax and delivery, it would come to $15.89.
The house sold for almost $1.6m a couple of years ago. It had been listed for $2.4m almost a year earlier.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/ct-biz-home-alone-house-may5-photogallery.html
Sorry - this thread is about PIZZA.
My mistake. I thought it was about PIZZA, PIZZA! 
And the kid might also not have known where to get the best deals. There are always more expensive pizza places around.
It’s a huge range in the US. Anywhere from $5-$30 today for a large 14" pizza with one ingredient plus cheese. If we eliminate Little Caesars from the discussion, $12-$20 would be a more normal range. I would say the average in my neighborhood for that pizza is somewhere around $15 or so. But, there’s a couple bigger chains (Beggar’s and Home Run Inn), where it’ll easily be over $20 (for example, Home Run Inn’s large cheese starts at $19. and the Beggar’s one starts at $18. Add an ingredient, and you’re over $20.)
As for the OP, I’m unsure whether $12 is supposed to be a lot or a little (as there seems to be some degree of surprise in the tone of the title.)
That seems about right for a pizza from a good independent local pizzeria. Not Dominos. Not Little Caesar’s.
Whoops. I meant “local chains.”
Looking at my local menus again (and I don’t live in an expensive part of town), looks like the average for a 14" sausage and cheese pizza is closer to $17, not including delivery, tax, or tip.
It’s a comedy film, and “twelve dollars” sounds funnier than “eleven” or “thirteen.”
It would have been even funnier if it had been two dollars.
Around here local chains charge about $20 for a large. Delivery charges are extra.