Ramon Novarro as a rival to Rudolph Valentino, and Ingram suggested he change his name to "Novarro." From 1923, he began to play more prominent roles. His role in "Scaramouche" (1923) brought him his first major success. In 1925, Novarro achieved his greatest success in "Ben-Hur." His revealing costumes caused a sensation. He was elevated into the Hollywood elite. As did many stars, Novarro engaged Sylvia of Hollywood as a therapist (although in her tell-all book, Sylvia erroneously claimed that Novarro slept in a coffin). With Valentino's death in 1926, Novarro became the screen's leading Latin actor, though ranked behind his MGM
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"