I never cared about either film’s planet’s destruction. Ep. 7/TFA improved on the presentation because we get to see some Great Gatsby-types look up at the sky as the approaching red beam is about to light them up, plus it’s more drawn out with sad music. But still.
It would have been better had it been a planet, with characters we were familiar with or were introduced to. As it stands, the few beings we see on the planets are merely cannon fodder to progress the story. Had it been a planet that was inhabited characters we liked or cared for, it would come across as more violent and/or disturbing, and might raise the MPAA rating. To appease mass audiences with children, we get a cartoon version of genocide.