The weekend warriors of November 8, 2013 includes Thor: The Dark World, along with the expansion of About Time and 12 Years a Slave. Box Office Battlefield is a recurring rundown of all the movie releases for the weekend. Every week, movie studios select candidates to enter the glorious battlefield for your hard earned dollars. Box Office Battlefield is here to help you decide which movie(s) will take priority over the others.

Last weekend, Ender’s Game came out on top to earn $27 million at the box office. And despite the amount of contender on the battlefield, Ender’s Game didn’t have that much stiff competition. It’s sci-fi versus sci-fi/fantasy this weekend to see who will reign supreme when Marvel Studios unleashes its second film of Phase 2 in their cinematic universe.

Does Ender have what it takes to hold off the god of thunder? Probably not… It’s time for the thunder from down under! This is the Box Office Battlefield:

Thor: The Dark World (Rated PG-13) 112 min – (Directed by Alan Taylor) Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Christopher Eccleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Kat Dennings, Idris Elba, and Jamie Alexander

Synopsis: Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all. (Watch the trailer here)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: Critics – 65% • Audience – 86%

Marvel Studios continues to reign supreme over all other franchises. Thor: The Dark World comes at fans with an enormous amount of wit, action, and drama to highly encourage enough positive vibes for a third Thor. Everyone slips into their Marvelous skin very well. The Dark World actually gives the franchise a ton of room to spread its wings, expanding the Thor universe and not having to build up to The Avengers. Unfortunately Marvel has once again written off the villain as some flat, uninteresting threat that weakens the climax. But despite its faults, The Dark World is incredibly fun to watch and is one of the most enjoyable films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet. SEE IT IN 2D! (Read the full spoiler-free review here)

About Time (Rated R) 123 min – (Directed by Richard Curtis) Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Lydia WIlson, and Lindsay Duncan

Synopsis: At the age of 21, Tim discovers he can travel in time and change what happens and has happened in his own life. His decision to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend turns out not to be as easy as you might think. (Watch the trailer here)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: Critics – 66% • Audience – 84%

And you thought we were done with Rachel McAdams dating time travelers. Nope. About Time expands to over 1,000 theaters nationwide this weekend, taking audiences through a grueling two hours that lead up to an emotional conclusion that doesn’t feel earned. The film is all over the place tonally and never doesn’t quite know what it wants us to focus on. Does he want love or does he cherish family? There just is too much going on. If the film was more focused on one or the other it may have benefited, but then we have the serious problems with the movie disobeying all of its time travel rules. A complete mess I tell you. This may seem like a film ladies will like, but trust me when I say they would be better off seeing Thor: The Dark World because Chris Hemsworth has a scene with his shirt off… WATCH IT ON NETFLIX! (The fact that this movie is Rated R is a joke too.)

12 Years a Slave also expands this weekend to over 1,000 theaters nationwide. Another movie film running over two hours, but entirely worth your time and patience. It is an exhausting film emotionally and physically, but that’s a Steve McQueen movie for you. The Book Thief and The Armstrong Lie also open this weekend in micro-limited release. I haven’t heard any good things about Thief, and Armstrong looks interesting if you want to make fun of people who still wear the Livestrong bracelets.

Ender’s Game is decent, but has no street cred like a Marvel movie. With The Dark World being the only major studio release this weekend, you know its going to draw big crowds and big numbers. So as it stands, I believe the victor for this weekend shall be:

Winner: Thor: The Dark World

Movie synopses courtesy of IMDb.com and Tomatometer Scores from Rotten Tomatoes

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