Ben-Hur (2016 film) and lasted about five months, finishing in June 2015. "Ben-Hur" premiered on August 9, 2016 in Mexico City and was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on August 19, 2016 in the United States in 2D, 3D, RealD 3D, Digital 3D, and IMAX 3D. The film received generally negative reviews and was a box office bomb, grossing $94.1 million worldwide against its $100 million production budget plus a large amount spent on marketing and distribution. A Jewish nobleman, Judah Ben-Hur, and his adopted Roman brother Messala are best friends despite their different origins. Messala enlists in the Roman army
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ success also led to its popularity as a promotional tool and a prototype for popular culture merchandising. It was not the only novel to have related popular culture products, but Wallace and his publisher were the first to legally protect and successfully promote the use of their literary work for commercial purposes. In the decades following its publication, "Ben-Hur" and its famous chariot race became well-established in popular culture as a "respected, alluring, and memorable" brand name and a recognizable icon that had mass market appeal. The novel was linked to commercial products that included Ben-Hur flour, produced by the