Apparently, kitchen-dwelling rats make for good business in the movies.

                                                   The Walt Disney Co. said late Monday that its summer animated hit movie ”Ratatouille,” about a rat who longs to be a restaurant chef, has now earned more than $600 million at worldwide box offices. That breaks down to $206 million in the U.S. and Canada and another $396 million internationally, where it is still playing strongly.

    That’s a huge sum, and it shows the fickle nature of pre-determining box office hits and misses. No one knows exactly how to judge which movies, TV shows, records, DVDs or even Web programs will hit or miss with consumers.

    Before “Ratatouille” was released in June , industry watchers downplayed the movie’s chances to perform to the level of recent Disney/Pixar films such as “Cars” or “The Incredibles.” After all, it was about a rat in a kitchen that (ahem) wanted to cook. Moreover, it took place in a French restaurant — in Paris. Sacre bleu!! 

  But the movie turned out to be good. Along with all its successes, “Ratatouille” is the No. 1 movie in France, according to Disney. And not only is the company raking in the box office cash, it must be thinking about winning the animated film Oscar. A happy Hollywood ending? No doubt.