Judah Ben-Hur Actor. Marlon Brando, Burt Lancaster and Rock Hudson turned down the role before Heston accepted it. In this version Ben-Hur becomes a Christian at the Crucifixion of Christ; whereas in the book Ben-Hur becomes a Christian earlier. Ben-Hur is given a more somewhat bitter personality; Balthazar, one of the three wise men having witnessed the birth of Christ begs him to listen to the teachings of Jesus but Judah rebuffs him saying that he has business with Rome. Blaming Rome for destroying the once good Messala (prior to his corruption) and what has happened to his family Judah refuses to
Ben-Hur (2016 film) of marketing, were potential causes for the film's underperformance. According to "Variety", the film was unable to expand beyond its core Christian audience. It performed well in areas of the US that are more religious, but did not do as well in more secular regions of the country. As a result of its poor opening, "Ben-Hur" joined various other films set in ancient times to underperform at the box office, especially recent big-budget movies from major studios – "" (2014), "The Legend of Hercules" (2014), and "Gods of Egypt" (2016). "Ben-Hur" depended heavily on foreign markets, especially in Christian offshore