# Why did Ben-Hur bomb? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702 "2016-08-23T01:04:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/1 "2016-08-23T01:04:24Z")
Turns out the the new Ben-Hur movie came in fifth or sixth on its opening weekend, earning only $11.4M on a budget of at least $100M. I didn’t see it, and I’m wondering if anyone actually saw it and can report on it. I saw it as a totally unneeded cheesy remake. I wasn’t surprised that about the reviews based on how the CGI looked in the chariot races. Your ideas on why it flopped? ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/2 "2016-08-23T01:13:10Z")
Well, this thread is the first I’ve heard of it, so that’s probably a bad sign. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/3 "2016-08-23T01:21:16Z")
supposedly they didn’t use cgi for the race … it was actual;ly filmed … but its just the wrong time for a movie like that mainly What they should of done is make a series of it like Spartacus… ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/4 "2016-08-23T01:21:51Z")
Wait… There’s a new Ben-Hur? Hollywood has truly run out of ideas. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/5 "2016-08-23T01:29:33Z")
You nailed it. It was a totally cheesy remake that pissed all over the parts of the classic version that made it a classic. It would be fitting if everybody involved never worked in film again, but that’s a bit much to ask. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/6 "2016-08-23T01:31:34Z")
Terrible marketing of a remake that has no reason for existing. There was zero chance it would not bomb. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/7 "2016-08-23T01:39:53Z")
They took a movie that no one under sixty ever heard of and made a remake hiring a bunch of actors that no one over fifty ever heard of, and people stayed away in droves. Who could have figured? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/8 "2016-08-23T01:49:49Z")
Seriously awful marketing. I didn’t know this movie was a thing until I heard it bombed. And who decided contemporary moviegoers wanted a big historical epic? If they had given him wings and made him a Superhero, maybe they’d have had an audience. I saw the 1925 original not long ago. God Amighty. Did you know they actually BUILT THOSE SHIPS and put 'em in the sea off the Italian coast and made them slam into each other? And don’t get me started on the Chariot Race. Blows the '50s version away. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/9 "2016-08-23T01:51:24Z")
Hmm. Since it’s not a comedy, consider the biggest action movies of the year so far: 1. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR 2. BATMAN V SUPERMAN 3. DEADPOOL 4. SUICIDE SQUAD 5. X-MEN: APOCALYPSE So, yeah, all _superhero_ movies, sure – but the point is, they’re all _sci-fi_ movies; they all have over-the-top action, they all have impossibly cinematic fights. That’s why, if we go back to 2015, we get the one-two punch of the telekineticists-with-light-sabers movie and the survive-the-rampaging-dinosaurs movie topping the list. What, like I’m going to pay good money to see ordinary guys fight mundanely? Man, the Olympics were on free of charge the last couple of weeks; I could watch a judo expert throw a guy around and choke him out, a boxer with great footwork land a knockout punch, a fencer with fast hands fire off a perfectly-timed thrust to the belly. And I enjoyed all of that – but if you want my hard-earned cash for an action movie, the easiest thing would be to promise a spectacle _beyond_ true-to-life. (Don’t get me wrong; it’s a rebuttable presumption. But BEN-HUR gave me no reason to think it was gonna so rebut said presumption.) [ETA: heh, ninja’d on the superhero thing by **Ike**.) ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/10 "2016-08-23T01:58:06Z")
I was aware of the new Ben-Hur film (though I’m a weekly movie goer, so I’m not typical of most) but since I’ve seen the first two versions I had no interest in yet another version. But I’m not too surprised that this version didn’t clean up at the box office. I think biblical films\* in general are a hard sell in the end of the 20th and into the 21st Century. I did a quick check at a couple recent biblical films: 2015 - _ **Exodus: Gods and Kings** _ - made 65 million domestic in 11 weeks 2014 - **Noah** - made 101 million domestic in 12 weeks 1998 - \*\*\*The Prince of Egypt \*\*\* - made 101 million domestic in 23 weeks I’m sure thee are some that I missed but I think movies set during that era of history aren’t of interest to many. You can even lump a film like: 2010 - _ **Prince of Persia** _ and it only made 90 million domestic in 17 weeks - - I don’t include the wave Christian made films over the last decade or so, just movies set in “Biblical Times”. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/11 "2016-08-23T02:06:07Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Terrible marketing of a remake that has no reason for existing. There was zero chance it would not bomb. I wouldn’t blame the marketing though. The **Regal Entertainment Group** has 588 theaters with over 7,000 screens and is the largest theater chain in America. Regal had teamed with this version of _Ben-Hur_ for an exclusive behind the scenes feature that ran before every film playing at regal in the last month, so at least recent movie goers would be aware of it. I think, like I and several other posters have said, Biblical Historical Epics are generally a hard sell in this day and age. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/12 "2016-08-23T02:10:08Z")
What was the draw? The largest group of people who have an interest in _Ben-Hur_ are people who like the 1959 movie. But they’re not looking for a remake. Jack Huston and Toby Kebbell aren’t box office draws. The movie has been marketed to Christian audiences but while that might work with a mid-budget film like _God’s Not Dead_ or _Heaven is for Real_, you’re not going to recoup a hundred million budget that way. At this point the studio’s only hope is that it takes off big internationally. ---
**Author:** ![Shearer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/57b2e6/32.png) [@Shearer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shearer)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/13 "2016-08-23T02:27:21Z")
Remakes and Superhero films everywhere i look. Hollywood cant get worse at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/14 "2016-08-23T02:43:41Z")
> [@Shearer](#): > > Remakes and Superhero films everywhere i look. Hollywood cant get worse at this point. Oh great; you did it! You went and challenged them! ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/15 "2016-08-23T03:34:32Z")
> [@Shearer](#): > > Remakes and Superhero films everywhere i look. Hollywood cant get worse at this point. _Sigh_ Every summer I hear or read someone saying the same thing. Just wait until September, that’s when all the small, more diverse ore actor-centric, interesting films hit the theater’s. The summer will ALWAYS be Action/Sequel/Remake films. Those draw the big crowds and the big money. Just be patient for the fall when the smart movies hit the screens. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/16 "2016-08-23T03:40:54Z")
> [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#): > > I was aware of the new Ben-Hur film (though I’m a weekly movie goer, so I’m not typical of most) but since I’ve seen the first two versions I had no interest in yet another version. But I’m not too surprised that this version didn’t clean up at the box office. I think biblical films\* in general are a hard sell in the end of the 20th and into the 21st Century. > > I did a quick check at a couple recent biblical films: > 2015 - _ **Exodus: Gods and Kings** _ - made 65 million domestic in 11 weeks > 2014 - **Noah** - made 101 million domestic in 12 weeks > 1998 - \*\*\*The Prince of Egypt \*\*\* - made 101 million domestic in 23 weeks > > I’m sure thee are some that I missed but I think movies set during that era of history aren’t of interest to many. You can even lump a film like: > 2010 - _ **Prince of Persia** _ and it only made 90 million domestic in 17 weeks > > - > - I don’t include the wave Christian made films over the last decade or so, just movies set in “Biblical Times”. Passion of the Christ made, I believe, over 300 million dollars. ---
**Author:** ![escaped](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@escaped](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/escaped)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/17 "2016-08-23T03:56:02Z")
charlatan hestan was not in this version nor a 21st century equalant. no one has ever read the ben hur comic nor has d.c or marvel or third rate comic company picked one up. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/18 "2016-08-23T03:58:22Z")
The thing is, though–would you call this new BH a _remake_ of the movie, or another _adaptation_ of the Lew Wallace novel? I tend to look more kindly on new adaptations of source material than I do on straight-up remakes unless they’re exceptionally well done. Different adaptations can highlight different areas of their source material in new and interesting ways. (And if we were only allowed one adaptation per source material, the only Wizard of Oz we’d be left with is that cringe-worthy 1925 silent version!) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/19 "2016-08-23T04:35:05Z")
This sort of Biblical and \*pseudo-\*Biblical (Ben-Hur, Quo Vadis) Epics were a phenomenon of a particular time. The 1959 Ben-Hur itself followed a 1925 silent film based on a novel that was a huge bestseller at the turn of the 20th century; there was not as much of a generational hiatus between \*those \*versions as there was between 1959 and today. Hardly anyone born after WW2 has read the novel or knows Ben-Hur as anything but a big Biblical-genre Charlton-Heston-at-peak-studly vehicle, with chariot racing and Jesus cameos. And though it had a Christian theme, it was marketed to the mass public and well made to appeal to that public as a movie with a message, not as a dramatized extended sermon. Once upon a time Biblical/pseudoBiblical, period historic, and Western were reular go-to themes and studios would regularly crank out both small and big movies with such themes, both blockbusters and filler material, as mass market releases; but post-1970s such themes tend to be spread thin and dropping one on the audience has become something of a gamble. With religious-themed movies it’s an even bigger gamble if you decide to market it to the choir, as it were, since it’s actually not that big nor do they have that much disposable entertainment budget. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/20 "2016-08-23T04:41:22Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > They took a movie that no one under sixty ever heard of and made a remake hiring a bunch of actors that no one over fifty ever heard of, and people stayed away in droves. Who could have figured? Nobody under 60 ever heard of it? Network TV plays it at least once a year, along with “The Ten Commandments”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702.md?page=2)