This whole thing was very much a test balloon and while Disney certainly had expectations, it was anybody’s guess how close to the mark they’d be.
Whatever numbers Mulan puts up will almost certainly look small compared to what a tentpole theatrical release can potentially do, but you have to assume that when Christine McCarthy says the company is pleased, she’s speaking in a relative sense.
Of course, Mulan is starting from a strong position considering that Disney+ as a subscription service has already surpassed pretty much all expectations as far as subscriber numbers go, which means the number of people who could drop their Mulan money with the click of a button was not insignificant.