# 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:** 2
**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, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/21 "2016-08-23T04:59:07Z")
The box office numbers were quite appalling. Suicide Squad, Sausage Party (!!:eek:!!), War Dogs, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Pete’s Dragon, in that order, were on top of it for the first weekend. Ye gods. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/22 "2016-08-23T06:15:08Z")
I think that the marketing direction that “Christian cinema” has taken over the past decade or so is in part to blame. In 2004, Passion of the Christ was a mainstream hit. Since then, though, the people making Christian-themed movies have overwhelmingly zoomed in on a right-wing, Protestant, conspiratorial demographic which thrives on the theme/s that Christianity is constantly under attack from Godless liberals, secularists, foreigners, and other outsiders, where it’s considered inappropriate to depict sinful or immoral deeds _even_ if to say that they’re wrong, and which primarily preaches to the choir by having the characters speak in Bible quotations and forced monologues that aren’t likely to impress anyone that isn’t already a believer. That’s the market that this adaptation of Ben-Hur, which at its core is _undeniably_ a Christian story, is being released into. Christian audiences aren’t going to like it because it doesn’t engage in the kind of aggressive witnessing that movies like “Left Behind” and “God’s Not Dead” do, and mainstream audiences aren’t going to buy in because they’ll be expecting a preachy movie that they don’t have time to deal with, a bog-standard adaptation of an old-ass movie their grandparents love to talk up and which they couldn’t give a shit about, or a bog-standard remake of a movie they’ve already seen and don’t need to see a remake of. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/23 "2016-08-23T06:19:32Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Nobody under 60 ever heard of it? Network TV plays it at least once a year, along with “The Ten Commandments”. Are you under the impression that people under 50 still watch network TV? Or ever did, for those under 30? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/24 "2016-08-23T06:36:22Z")
I saw the trailer once, despite having gone to the movies more frequently than other summers. And it didn’t make me want to see the movie, all it did was make me go “really? What’s next, The Ten Commandments, half on one weekend half the next?” ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/25 "2016-08-23T07:29:51Z")
> [@Shearer](#): > > Remakes and Superhero films everywhere i look. Hollywood cant get worse at this point. Go see _Kubo and the Two Strings_. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/26 "2016-08-23T09:29:00Z")
We saw the trailer the last time we went to the movies. As somebody who watched the Charlton Heston version every Easter weekend with my mother (it was one of our traditions) since I was a kid, I was mortified that someone had even _thought_ to do a remake. ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/27 "2016-08-23T10:19:28Z")
I could’ve written most of **kiz’s** post, except I watched Ben Hur with my dad and still watch it every time it comes on tv (plus I own the blu-ray). I was horrified at the thought of today’s Hollywood getting their hands on it. Also, I’m well under the age of 60. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/28 "2016-08-23T10:43:44Z")
> [@escaped](#): > > no one has ever read the ben hur comic nor has d.c or marvel or third rate comic company picked one up. Huh! I did, back when I was in high school. [![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5fKsK5etkjE/V5Z-svN6mTI/AAAAAAAADpk/m7uCaOy5BLoGuQK-yyoW83V8ZfRphLNCgCLcB/s1600/IMG_2165.JPG) ](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5fKsK5etkjE/V5Z-svN6mTI/AAAAAAAADpk/m7uCaOy5BLoGuQK-yyoW83V8ZfRphLNCgCLcB/s1600/IMG_2165.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/29 "2016-08-23T10:49:07Z")
I saw the adverts on TV and was immediately put off by (a) the phrase “Are we having fun yet?” and (b) freakin’ Morgan Freeman in the Hugh Griffith role. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/30 "2016-08-23T10:51:55Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > We saw the trailer the last time we went to the movies. As somebody who watched the Charlton Heston version every Easter weekend with my mother (it was one of our traditions) since I was a kid, I was mortified that someone had even _thought_ to do a remake. The Heston version was a remake too. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/31 "2016-08-23T11:31:45Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > Are you under the impression that people under 50 still watch network TV? Or ever did, for those under 30? Hey I watch network TV and I’m under 50! For another 50-odd days anyway. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/32 "2016-08-23T12:05:01Z")
I saw the trailer, and what put me off was the soundtrack of modern pop music. I can sort of understand doing that sort of thing with films like _Moulin Rouge!_ and _A Knight’s Tale_, but it seemed particularly jarring for a serious, pseudo-Biblical epic. Can anyone who’s seen the film confirm whether this soundtrack is used in the film itself? (I’m kind of hoping that this was a case of the real score not yet being ready in time for the trailers.) ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/33 "2016-08-23T12:10:11Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > The Heston version was a remake too. True, but it’s obvious what such a remake could add that the 1925 version simply didn’t have. Color. Sound. A wide aspect ratio. It’s not obvious what a modern adaptation of the novel can add, other than to remove all the practical effects with CG. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/34 "2016-08-23T12:55:27Z")
I haven’t seen the movie, just the trailer. But the trailer and all the buzz made it sound like the chariot race is all there is. Sort of NASChariot for the 21st century. I don’t like remakes in general. Hollywood does it because they think there is a built-in audience. The difficulty is remaking a good movie and hoping to do better than the original, and usually all you get is recycling. How are they going to do better than _Ben-Hur_ - win twelve Oscars instead of only 11? It was released in August. Did the marketing folks just realize they had a bomb on their hands and give up hope altogether? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/35 "2016-08-23T13:06:16Z")
> [@Shearer](#): > > Remakes and Superhero films everywhere i look. Hollywood cant get worse at this point. I’ve seen 3-5 movies over the past month - seems like just about all of the trailers were for remakes (with the exception of Matt Damon fighting off dragons in ancient China - WTF???) Of course, at east one of the flicks I watched was the Ghostbusters redo… ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/36 "2016-08-23T13:11:55Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Go see _Kubo and the Two Strings_. Exactly. _Ben-Hur_ trailers were “ho-hum, another re-make”; _Kubo_ trailers were interesting. Mrs Piper turned to me after the first time we saw a Kubo trailer a couple of months ago and said “I want to see that.” ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/37 "2016-08-23T13:14:07Z")
I saw one advertisement for it about two weeks ago and can’t remember if that was a commercial or a theater trailer. In fact, when I saw it I assumed it was for early buzz on a movie being released this winter since it seemed like a big production and I was just hearing about it. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/38 "2016-08-23T13:17:48Z")
Also what no one has mentioned was that it was directed by Timur Bekmambetov, the director of Night Watch, Wanted, and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I really enjoyed Night Watch and Wanted, haven’t seen Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, but based on his previous work I wouldn’t expect that his style would quite fit with a Biblical epic. Based on the reviews it seems like I was right. > [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#): > > 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. That’s not nothing, but I’d wager that only a fraction of the audience are paying attention to those behind the scenes features. Many still haven’t even gone into the theater yet when those start, and the people in their seat are still talking to their friends or playing with their phones. There was a surprising lack of marketing. Even if the movie was being heavily marketed to church groups like I assume it was, that alone wouldn’t bring in enough money to make it profitable. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/39 "2016-08-23T13:19:45Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Go see _Kubo and the Two Strings_. I’m not sure how to parse this response. Are you saying this is proof that Hollywood CAN do worse, or that it can do so much better? ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/40 "2016-08-23T13:34:04Z")
> [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#): > > _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. To add to this, it isn’t as if Hollywood isn’t releasing non-Comic/remakes. They are. People just aren’t going to see them. Pop Star and Nice Guys were completely original movies…that bombed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702.md?page=3)