I actually recall going to the theater to see this when it came out. I thought it was terrible, even as a kid. The only others I recall seeing at the theater earlier were the Ten Commandments, a school trip if you can imagine that today, and Forbidden Planet which is still one of my all time best regarded fantasy movies.
‘Forbidden Planet’ - one of my all time favorites. When I was in school I ran a video store - played Forbidden Planet every Saturday. The dialog is great.