By Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine (Reuters) -Walt Disney sharply outperformed Wall Street's quarterly earnings estimates on Wednesday, with results buoyed by the strong holiday box office performance of animated sequel "Moana 2" and higher profits at the company's streaming business.

Blockbuster hit Moana 2 helped drive The Walt Disney Company (DIS) to beat quarterly profit expectations amid a resurgence in studio successes,

The division that includes Disney’s film studio delivered earnings of $312 million, also reversing a year-ago loss, driven by “Moana 2,” a sequel to the Polynesian-themed film. The animated feature opened on Nov. 27 and generated $1.04 billion in global box-office sales.