Box Office Report: 'End of Watch,' 'House at the End of the Street' Tie on Friday

9:43 AM PDT 9/22/2012 by Pamela McClintock

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Clint Eastwood's "Trouble with the Curve" comes in No. 3, while "The Master" climbs to No. 7 after expanding into a total of 788 theaters nationwide.

In a surprise twist, Jake Gyllenhaal-Michael Pena's cop drama End of Watch tied with Jennifer Lawrence horror pic House at the End of the Street for No. 1 at the Friday box office, each earning $4.6 million.

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Clint Eastwood's new baseball drama Trouble with the Curve followed with $4.2 million. From Warner Bros., the film is hoping for a Saturday boost as older moviegoers become available. Otherwise, it could lose the weekend race to End of Watch, which is projecting a $13.5 million debut. House at the End of the Street will likely earn $12 million for the weekend.

Heading into the weekend, Warner Bros. was expecting a $14 million debut for Trouble with the Curve. It's unclear how Eastwood's recent speech at the Republican National Convention is impacting the film's performance.

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Trouble with the Curve, about an aging baseball scout who goes on one last trip with his daughter, is directed by Rob Lorenz, Eastwood's longtime producing partner. It's the first film that Eastwood has starred in, but not directed, since In the Line of Fire in 1993.

Directed by David Ayer, End of Watch received an A- CinemaScore. Open Road Films is distributing the film.

House at the End of the Street, from Relativity Media, earned a B CinemaScore.

Box office observers also are tracking Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master, which expanded into a total of 788 theaters on Friday, grossing $1.4 million.