Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925 film) his body. Gertrude Olmstead was cast as Esther. While on location in Italy, Walsh was fired and replaced by Ramon Novarro. The role of Esther went to May McAvoy. Shooting began in Rome, Italy in October 1923 under the direction of Charles Brabin who was replaced shortly after filming began. Additional recastings (including Ramon Novarro as Ben-Hur) and a change of director caused the production's budget to skyrocket. After two years of difficulties and accidents, the production was eventually moved back to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Culver City, California and production resumed in the spring of 1925. B. Reeves Eason and Christy
Box-office bomb viewers. According to co-star Leo Grillo, it sold six tickets, two of which were to cast members. Previously, the British film "Offending Angels" had become notorious for taking in less than £100 (~$150) at the box office. It had a £70,000 (~$105,000) budget but was panned by critics including the BBC, who called it a "truly awful pile of garbage", and "Total Film", who called it "irredeemable". In 2011, the film "The Worst Movie Ever!" opened to just $11 at the US box office. It played in only one theater. Box-office bomb In the motion picture industry, a "box-office bomb"