This performance got me thinking: Should Disney be focusing any effort on this genre? I know Disney has a history with this kind of documentary product, but I just don't see a lot of upside potential, in a relative sense, for the studio when it comes to nature films at the box office.

Yes, there was the incredible success story of March of the Penguins, which the Mouse most certainly must have had in mind when it decided to form a label dedicated to wilderness concepts dubbed Disneynature. And I know nature scenes must play well on IMAX (NASDAQ: IMAX) screens (never been to an IMAX theater myself).

From what I understand, Disney isn't necessarily betting a huge amount of money on Disneynature. Still, I have to wonder if the company might be better off trying to get bigger payoffs from other concepts: action movies, sci-fi thrillers, family-themed comedies, etc. However, I concede that there is opportunity for synergy between the label and the company's animal park, as Rick Munarriz pointed out in an article at The Motley Fool.

As far as I'm concerned, Disney might be barking up the wrong tree here. There's simply so much animal/environmental stuff on TV that spending any amount of money on marketing such fare at the theaters doesn't make sense to me. I know many will say I'm making too much of this, but Disney itself has said that it wants to be as efficient as possible when it comes to the movie business. I don't find this new division to be an example of great efficiency since I have to wonder if it is really needed.

I guess I'm just underwhelmed at Earth's gross. I don't see it as a promising start for Disneynature. No, the industry didn't expect that the movie would climb to great heights. As a shareholder, though, I certainly was looking for more green (yes, the pun is most emphatically intended).

Disclosure: I own Disney; positions can change without notice.