Ben-Hur (1959 film) the box office), generating approximately $74.7 million in box office sales. Outside of North America, it earned $32.5 million in rentals (about $72.2 million at the box office) for a worldwide total of $66.1 million in rental earnings, roughly equivalent to $146.9 million in box office receipts. It was the fastest-grossing film as well as the highest-grossing film of 1959, in the process becoming the second-highest-grossing film of all-time (at that time) behind "Gone with the Wind". "Ben-Hur" saved MGM from financial disaster, making a profit of $20,409,000 on its initial release, and another $10.1 million in profits when re-released
The Flying Fleet teaming of up-and-coming Anita Page and heartthrob Ramon Novarro was considered good box office. Page later recalled that Novarro was "... something to dream about. I mean he was so good looking." "The New York Times" critic Mordaunt Hall wrote that "the story is sometimes quite a bit too melodramatic", but appreciated the "thrilling stunts" and "some splendid sequences devoted to an airplane carrier". Modern reviewer Dennis Schwartz agreed, stating, "the authentic looking plane stunts and test pilot sequences make the film a winner, as the tepid romance story flags." The Flying Fleet The Flying Fleet is a 1929 romantic