Weekend Animation Box Office -- The Slow Fade

Nothing but live-action releases at the tail end of summer, and animation continues to recede into the background... Monday through Thursday totals show only one animated feature in the top ten. And that top ten player is "Barnyard," anchored at #6, closing in on a $50 million domestic gross... "Monster House" sits at #14, having gathered in $68.2 million (and becoming an example of bad word of mouth for the L.A. Times -- see below.) "The Ant Bully" hangs at #16 with a gross of $25 million. It's on 850 screens, but that total is bound to shrink... Update One: "Barnyard" descends to #10, but crosses the fabled $50 million barrier. Update Two: There are now four animated features in release, all of them on the downhill slopes of their respectrive runs... "Barnyard" in 10th position, has now collected $54.7 million. "Monster House" comes in at 16th with a cume of $69.3 million. "Cars is down to 531 theatres and now grossing under a million (its total stands at $240,548,00 domestic.) And lastly, the sill-born "Ant BUlly takes in $685,000 in the 22nd slot, for a take of $25,795,000.