While October is often dominated by horror movies, it is also a critical month for films that intend to be on the Academy Award radar. Brad Pitt's newest movie "Fury" opens this weekend, and it will face off against another Oscar contender, "Gone Girl," which stars Ben Affleck.

Director of the WWII period piece "Fury" David Ayer recently talked to Oregon Live about Brad Pitt's performance.

"He was after immersion and truth. I think Brad was attracted to the leadership role, playing this wise, grizzled guy, this survivor. And he's not just a survivor - he's got to keep these other people alive, yet ask them to do things that risk their lives. I think he was attracted to the paradox of that," Ayer said.

It would seem that Ayer is not the only one impressed with Pitt's performance, as most of the reviews so far for "Fury" mirror Ayer's sentiment. The Hollywood Reporter in particular states that Brad Pitt's performance in the WWII tank war movie "deserves" to be "emblematic."

Besides Brad Pitt's particular impressiveness, critics view "Fury" as "a well-acted, suitably raw depiction of the horrors of war," according to Rotten Tomatoes. Currently "Fury" is at 75% fresh, but perhaps it won't be certified fresh until it's Friday release.

But Friday will be interesting on a commercial scale in particular because Brad Pitt's "Fury" will face off with Ben Affleck's "Gone Girl" in the box office. Given the special appeal to male audiences, "Fury" has a good chance of opening ahead of "Gone Girl." Furthermore, Screen Rant predicts that "Fury" will take in an estimated $25 million. Not to mention that "Gone Girl" is in it's third week, in which numbers are likely to drop at a continued rate at this point in it's release.

Nevertheless, "Fury" will likely rake in solid number and more positive reviews due to Brad Pitt's fantastic performance. "Fury" hits theaters nationwide on Friday, October 17th.