In space, they say, no one can hear you scream — but that’s got to be what Buzz Lightyear’s been doing.
Disney/Pixar’s LIGHTYEAR liftoff wasn’t supposed to face any direct competition from family audiences. However, as things turned out, what kids are really loving are those scary, violent dinos on the loose in Universal/Amblin’s JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION.
On the distribution chess board, you wouldn’t anticipate competition between a PG animated action-adventure about a space ranger spin-off from TOY STORY and a PG-13 live-action adventure sequel from a franchise about killer dinosaurs. But that’s what’s happened. Although DOMINION’s about dinos & humans co-existing, the dinos ate LIGHTYEAR’s lunch at the boxoffice.
Exit polls indicate kids like LIGHTYEAR (pictured) more than parents do. In the Top, Two Boxes (excellent & very good) kids were 7 points over norm while parents were 5 points over the norm. But Definite Recommend scores were surprisingly reversed — with parents 6 points over the norm & kids 5 points below the norm.
It appears that while kids like LIGHTYEAR, they’re not telling their friends to go see it. And that could mean kids don’t think Buzz delivers enough fun.