Will Godzilla: King of the Monsters have a box office debut as big as the monsters that headline the movie itself? If early tracking is any indication the answer is no, not really. Though, that doesn't necessarily mean it's time to call this a flop by any stretch, as it's still early. That having been said, the early numbers for the upcoming sequel don't look as good as one might expect them to look for a blockbuster of this size and scope.

According to early box office tracking, Godzilla: King of the Monsters will arrive in theaters to an opening weekend of between $50 and $55 million. While many movies would be very pleased with that kind of return out the gate, this is a gigantic, very expensive blockbuster that hopes to open the door for further entries in a big franchise. Those numbers don't really speak to that. Surely, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are hoping for that number to grow as the release date approaches.

So how does that stack up against other movies in the MonsterVerse? 2014's Godzilla, as directed by Gareth Edwards, raked in $93.1 million on its opening weekend, which was also in May. It finished its run with $200.6 million domestically and $529 million worldwide. 2017's Kong: Skull Island opened with just $61 million. However, it went on to make $566 million globally. But just $168 million of that was from the domestic box office. It stands to reason that Godzilla 2 could see its gross increase overseas, even if it doesn't shine in the States. This is the kind of movie that is almost designed for just such a box office run.

Still, if we've learned anything in recent years it's that box office tracking can be very unreliable for massive blockbusters such as these. Director Michael Dougherty is set to introduce Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah into the fold. He's also lined up a log of human star power, with Millie Bobby Brown, Vera Farmiga, Kyle Chandler and O'shea Jackson Jr., amongst others, joining the franchise in this installment. Assuming reviews come back on the positive side of things, that $50 million figure could get a lot bigger come time for opening weekend. All of this to say, while a $50 million opening wouldn't be great, it also wouldn't be disastrous. But we also can't rule out a bigger debut at this time.

Warner Bros. already finished filming a follow-up with Godzilla vs. Kong. That was directed by Adam Wingard (Blair Witch) and will hit theaters next summer, pitting the two legendary beasts against one another for modern audiences to enjoy. That being the case, the studio seems to be betting that moviegoers will turn up to see Godzilla duke it out with some of his oldest foes this summer. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is set to hit theaters on May 31. This news was previously reported by Variety.