VLC player won't run on my MacBook Pro

Is there a question? Why doesn't your Mac support VLC? VLC supports macOS from 10.7.5+ (even the newest M1 Macs).

https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html

I'm assuming your laptop is older and running an outdated version of macOS. See if you can upgrade the laptop to a newer version of macOS, or whether you are already at the latest supported version of macOS for your laptop. Here is an article showing the compatibility of macOS with various Apple hardware:

https://eshop.macsales.com/guides/Mac_OS_X_Compatibility

You can find the exact model of your Mac by clicking the Apple menu and selecting "About This Mac". In the future you should post the exact model of the Mac and OS when asking for assistance.

If you can upgrade to a later version of macOS, then you can find links to various macOS installers within this Apple article which also includes optional instructions for creating a bootable macOS USB installer (recommended just so you have more options if something goes wrong):

How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

Make sure to have a good backup before attempting to upgrade macOS just in case something goes wrong.

If you cannot run the latest version of VLC (why not since VLC supports macOS 10.7.5+), then you can try using an older version of VLC, but keep in mind it won't be able to play some of the newer video/audio formats:

https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html

You should always have frequent and regular backups of your computer and all external media (including the cloud) which contains important & unique data.

Are you certain you're trying to use the Apple version with the correct bit architecture?

Our five Mac (3 iMacs; 2 MBPs) all run VLC player beautifully. It's my player of choice.