Box Office Report: Underdog 'End of Watch' Comes From Behind to Win Weekend

David Ayer's gritty L.A.P.D. action-drama End of Watch has emerged the winner of a three-way contest at the domestic box office, grossing a projected $13.2 million.

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Starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena, End of Watch marks a victory for indie distributor Open Road Films and Exclusive Media, which fully financed and produced the movie.

Film Review: End of Watch

Heading into the weekend, End of Watch looked like it didn't have a chance of beating Jennifer Lawrence horror pic House at the End of the Street or Clint Eastwood's baseball drama Trouble with the Curve. But fueled by positive word of mouth and great reviews, End of Watch overperformed while the two other films lagged.

House at the End of the Street, from Relativity Media, grossed roughly $12.2 million for the weekend, according to box office observers (Relativity won't have an official number until later Monday morning).  Trouble with the Curve earned $12.1 million, according to Warner Bros.

Generally, a weekend box office winner is declared on Sunday, but this time around, the race was too close to call until Monday morning.

End of Watch received an A- CinemaScore, the best of any new film. Also, Hispanic moviegoers turned out in force for End of Watch, making up 32 percent of the audience.

"We always knew we were going to outperform expectations, and I believe the film will have long legs," said Open Road's Tom Ortenberg.