The early box office tracking numbers for Birds of Prey are in and it appears as though Margot Robbie's return as Harley Quinn could set a new low for the DCEU. But does that mean the movie is poised to be a possible flop? Not at all. Numbers, on the surface, can be deceiving in a case like this. Even if the R-rated, female-driven DC Comics adaptation comes in on the lower side of what we're accustomed to for comic book movies, it could easily go on to become a relative hit.

According to a new report, Birds of Prey, directed by Cathy Yan (Dead Pigs), is set to bring in between $40 and $60 million on its opening weekend in February. First off, that's a pretty wide range and the difference between $40 and $60 million for a studio like Warner Bros. is huge. That having been said, the current low for a DCEU title's opening weekend take goes to Shazam!, which pulled in $53.5 million domestically when it opened this year, on its way to a grand total of $363.6 million worldwide by the end of its run. And Warner Bros. just recently set a release date for Shazam 2.

Point being, Birds of Prey's Box office tracking is right in that same range, which is good, as a movie being a hit is all relative to how much it cost to produce. Shazam, for example, had a $100 million production budget. Justice League, on the other hand, after the expensive and extensive reshoots, had its budget balloon in the $300 million range. That made it a financial failure, even though it grossed $655.9 million. It's all relative.

With Birds of Prey, the production budget is said to be in the $75 million range, which would make it the cheapest DCEU movie to date. Granted, Joker was produced for somewhere in the $55 million range, but that movie is set outside of the DCEU continuity. In any event, with a relatively low production budget, this movie doesn't need to have a $100 million opening weekend to be considered a success.

Aside from Margot Robbie reprising her role as Harley Quinn for the first time since Suicide Squad, the movie also features Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain and Ewan McGregor as the villain Black Mask. Christina Hodson (Bumblebee) penned the screenplay. Robbie will also be appearing in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, which is currently filming.

It's also important to point out that Birds of Prey topped IMDB's most anticipated 2020 movies list. If critics respond positively, when coupled with the interest heading into next year, that $60 million figure could balloon closer to the movie's release date. All of this to say, this could easily be another win for DC Films. Birds of Prey is set to hit theaters on February 7, 2020. This news comes to us via Box Office Pro.