I knew it was going to be a bad showing for Disney's (NYSE:DIS) latest movie, but I didn't think it would be this bad.

I mean, fewer than 10 million bucks over an Easter weekend for a CGI offering from the magical Mouse is pretty depressing. Yet that's exactly what Boxofficemojo.com is estimating for The Wild. The movie, which falls between the hit Chicken Little and Cars, the hit-to-be coming from the geniuses at Pixar (NASDAQ:PIXR), is said to have taken in approximately $9.6 million at domestic locations. That number could change when final numbers are announced, but no one can get wild over it. To add further insult, The Wild ranked just No. 4 for the weekend.

To be fair, though, this was a tough time for Disney to hope for some pixie dust. After all, the latest entry of the immensely multiplex-friendly Scary Movie comedy franchise also arrived on Friday from The Weinstein Company; it grossed more than $40 million and came in on top. Incidentally, Disney does have a financial interest in this movie and is distributing it in some international territories through its Buena Vista International entity. The franchise started at Disney when the Weinstein brothers were employed at the company.

Meanwhile, News Corp.'s (NYSE:NWS) own CGI-animated asset, Ice Age: The Meltdown, has proved itself to be an unmitigated springtime blockbuster -- it grossed somewhere around $20 million over the weekend, bringing its total domestic take to just less than $150 million and making the $200 million mark seem almost assured at this point. That kind of popularity made the chances for The Wild to succeed pretty slim.

For many observers, this showing makes the price Disney paid for Pixar seem like a bargain yet again. I have to admit, however, that even though I eventually realized The Wild wasn't going to wow 'em at the box, it was rather late in the game, around the time the reviews started pouring in. I held out hope that some of the luck from Chicken Little would have rubbed off on this film. As it turned out, no one could let go of the fact that The Wild was, according to detractors, essentially DreamWorks Animation's (NYSE:DWA) Madagascar in Disney clothing. Having seen neither movie, I can't contribute to that debate, but what people were saying obviously rang true because of the subject matter, and in the end, it didn't matter -- once this type of sentiment started to spread, the project was financially dead in the water.

Shareholders of News Corp. should have something to look forward to when the money from its latest animated feature rolls in -- it should be a boost for that media giant's studio segment. As for all you investors in Mickey out there, just keep humming Gary Numan's song "Cars" to yourself -- you know, the synth-heavy tune about automobiles.

More movie fun awaits:

Pixar and DreamWorks Animation are Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations. For more of Tom and David Gardner's picks, try out Stock Advisor free for 30 days.

Fool contributor Steven Mallas owns shares of Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.