Ben-Hur (1959 film) New York City on November 18, 1959. Present at the premiere were William Wyler, Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet, Martha Scott, Ramon Novarro (who played Judah Ben-Hur in the 1925 silent film version), Spyros Skouras (president of the 20th Century Fox), Barney Balaban (president of Paramount Pictures), Jack L. Warner (president of Warner Bros.), Leonard Goldenson (president of the American Broadcasting Company), Moss Hart (playwright), Robert Kintner (an ABC Television executive), Sidney Kingsley (playwright), and Adolph Zukor (founder of Paramount Pictures). During its initial release the film earned $33.6 million in North American theater rentals (the distributor's share of
Humoresque (1946 film) leaning his soulful face against that violin or Miss Crawford violently emoting, . . . you may enjoy it very much." Franz Waxman received an Academy Award nomination for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. The film was nominated for the American Film Institute's 2002 list AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Passions. The films budget was estimated to be around $2,164,000. The film fared well at the box office and grossed $3,399,000 and the film was hailed a success. With inflation in 2007 the gross is $35,737,750. According to Warner Bros records the film earned $2,281,000 domestically