Poster © Open Road Films. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAction, Crime & Drama
RatedR
Runtime1 hr 49 mins
ReleasedSeptember 21, 2012
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorDavid Ayer
StarringJake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick
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End of Watch (2012)
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| End of Watch's Details | |
| Genre | Action, Crime & Drama |
| Rated | R |
| Released | 09/08/2012 (TIFF); 09/21/2012 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 49 mins |
| Budget | $7–15M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| End of Watch's Interests | |
| General | Squad car banter, handheld cameras, dashboard footage, Newton Division, loyalty. |
| Music | David Sardy, tuned to a city that never quiets down. |
| Movies | Training Day (2001). David Ayer wrote that one too. |
| Television | Southland. LA patrol cops, same streets, more seasons. |
| Heroes | Officer Zavala. Loyal partner, proud family man, undefeated in squad car debates. |
| End of Watch's Crew | |
| Director | David Ayer |
| Writers | David Ayer |
| Producers | John Lesher, David Ayer, Nigel Sinclair, Matt Jackson |
| Cinematography | Roman Vasyanov |
| Music | David Sardy |
| Edited By | Dody Dorn |
| Production | Exclusive Media, EFF-Hedge Fund Films, Crave Films, Le Grisbi Productions |
| Distributed By | Open Road Films |
Brian is supposedly filming everything for a class, and End of Watch drops that rule any time it wants a shot no camera in the car could get. The cartel villains are cartoons, all snarls and no inner life. None of that matters once you’re riding in the squad car. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña talk the way real best friends talk, about girlfriends, in-laws, weddings and who’s the better cop, and their banter is so loose and specific that it feels overheard. Peña is especially great as Mike, a family man who jokes nonstop and means every word when it counts. Anna Kendrick brings real warmth as Janet. The action is tense and frightening without lingering on anything grim. It made $55.1 million worldwide on a reported $7 to $15 million. A 7.6 because the friendship in the front seat is as real as cop movies get, even when the camera cheats. $692 says your next long drive with your best friend turns into an hour-long debate about whose family is weirder.
What works: Gyllenhaal and Peña have one of the most believable partnerships in any cop movie, and the patrol calls feel tense and immediate.
What doesn’t: The found-footage rule gets broken constantly, and the cartel villains are loud cartoons with no inner life at all.
Who it’s for: People who rewatch cop shows for the conversations in the car more than the chases.
Spoilers
The cartel finally ambushes the partners in an alley. Mike is killed shielding Brian, who survives and speaks at his funeral, and the last scene flashes back to the two of them laughing in the car that same morning.
Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Michael Peña) are LAPD partners on patrol in South Central Los Angeles, and best friends who never stop talking. Taylor is filming their shifts for a college class, so much of the story plays out on handheld and dashboard cameras. Their days swing from traffic stops and noise complaints to pulling kids out of a burning house, with nonstop jokes about marriage, family and each other in between. Then a few routine calls lead them toward a cartel operation far bigger than two patrol cops. David Ayer writes and directs. One hundred nine minutes, one squad car.
Anyone who works the night shift and still calls their partner first.
| Jake Gyllenhaal | Officer Brian Taylor |
| Michael Peña | Officer Miguel 'Mike Z' Zavala |
| David Harbour | Officer Van Hauser |
| Frank Grillo | Sergeant Daniels |
| Jaime FitzSimons | Captain Reese |
| America Ferrera | Officer Orozco |
| Cody Horn | Officer Davis |
| Kristy Wu | Officer Sook |
| Natalie Martinez | Gabby Zavala |
| Anna Kendrick | Janet Taylor |
| Cle Shaheed Sloan | 'Tre' |
| Shondrella Avery | 'Bonita' |
| Maurice Compte | 'Big Evil' |
| Richard Cabral | 'Demon' |
| Diamonique | 'Wicked' |
| Flakiss | 'La La' |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $55.1M; Domestic box office $41M; Opening weekend $13.2M; Profit / loss (est.) +$11M; Rotten Tomatoes 85%; CinemaScore A−; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 85% (183 reviews); Metacritic 68 / 100; CinemaScore A−; IMDb users 7.6 / 10 (297,265 votes); movie.guru score 7.7.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.