The Sandlot, set in the summer of 1962, exposes the dreams and fears of young boys while capturing the history of baseball by pioneers like Babe Ruth. The Sandlot held somewhat of a cult following with quotes that are still used today by the 90s kids. Also with baseball being such a popular American sport, if you play baseball, you've seen this film.
Competition
The main competition for The Sandlot were the similar classic 90s kids films coming out within a year of its release. The Little Rascals and Angels in the Outfeild were the main competitors released in 1994. The 1993 film Rookie of the Year is another one the film's greatest competitors. These films are all kids films dealing with bullying, friendship, or baseball.
The Competitor's USP
The Little Rascals marketed itself as an adaptation of Hal Roach's Our Gang. As a comedy, it also made sure to note that it was directed by the director of Wayne's World and The Beverly HillBillies. This film appealed to children with it's cast, but it appealed to adults as well by playing up the fact that the film is about children acting as adults.
As a baseball movie, Angels in the Outfield appealed heavily to the California Angels fans. This film was marketed as a family film based on the 1951 film with the same name. It used big names like Tony Danza, Danny Glover, and Christopher Lloyd to help get audiences into theaters. It uses magic to draw in the imaginative audiences as well as the baseball fan. This film did not receive good reviews from the critics, but because of its USP most if not all baseball players in the 90s have seen this film.
In 1993 Rookie of the Year really played up the baseball factor to appeal to family and children audiences. With named talent like Thomas Ian Nicholas and Gary Busey this film marketed itself toward Dads and kids. Though each of these films similar to The Sandlot did not receive very good ratings from critics, they all made a large profit thanks to their USPs. Though these family friendly films could have made use of competitive positioning against each other, none of them did. They all drew on their own positive messages to get crowds in the theaters without positioning themselves against one another.
Positioning and Competitors
Based on The Sandlot's USP I would position this film toward fathers and their sons and daughters. This film teaches valuable life lessons about friendship, loyalty, and love. Any parent would feel comfortable watching this film with their children and any child would have fun watching.
I would absolutely position this film against other baseball family films like Angels in the Outfield and Rookie of the Year. Though its competitor's have named talent in the cast, The Sandlot has heart. The cast is full of real kids acting like themselves, and that's what is so entertaining. Though The Little Rascals along with the other two films all capture the importance of friendship and teamwork, The Sandlot is more realistic. It doesn't use gimmicks like magic or kids acting as adults to draw audiences, but instead shows kids being kids having realistic summer adventures.
