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‘Ben Hur’ After-Credits Scene: Will It Be Worth Waiting To The End Of The Epic Summer Remake?

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 10:09 PST, Aug 18, 2016

Does Ben Hur have an after-credits scene?

When the original epic historical drama was released in 1959, the idea of putting a hidden scene after all the credits had ended was barely an idea in the film industry. The first movie to end with an extra scene rather than the credits wrapping up was The Great Train Robbery in 1903, but it didn’t become a convention until the late 1970s and didn’t become widely popular until the last 10 years or so.

Today, it’s something of an expectation within certain genres to have a scene after all the credits have ended. Within action movies, it’s largely expected to have an after-credits scene or stinger as it’s known in the movie industry. Superhero movies have made an art form of the after-credits scene, and the Marvel movies always include two separate scenes during the credits to introduce new characters and plot lines that are picked up in coming films.

Historical dramas are less of a known quantity, so moviegoers picking Ben Hur won’t be sure whether it’s worth waiting all of the roughly two hour and 30 minute running time.

So, does Ben Hur have an after-credits scene?

[WARNING: Potential Ben Hur spoilers ahead]

The answer is no. There will be no scene at the very end and nothing during the credits either, according to After Credits. This is more common among stand-alone movies, ones that aren’t part of a series and won’t be having a sequel, as these scenes are most commonly used to introduce new plot elements or build anticipation for a coming installment.

While they won’t get any extra scene at the end, moviegoers picking Ben Hur over Suicide Squad or Sausage Party may be seeing the biggest summer bomb since Ben Affleck and then-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, teamed up for the mega-flop, Gigli. Early reviews of the movie were poor, and the predictions for the opening weekend were generally under $20 million, which would be unusually low for a summer blockbuster.

There could be a bit of a boost for Ben Hur in its opening weekend, The Hollywood Reporter noted. A number of faith-based veterans groups are holding screenings of the movie, the report noted, and it is being promoted on some Christian radio stations as well.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIvar8cBv9S/?taken-by=benhurmovie

But that still has Ben Hur on target for a very disappointing weekend, the report added.

“But the ancient epic faces several challenges, including poor reviews and dismal prerelease tracking. Partners MGM and Paramount are hopeful that a strong turnout among faith-based moviegoers will prove tracking wrong and help deliver an opening of $20 million or better, according to some predictions. That would potentially put Ben-Hur in a close race for the No. 1 spot with Suicide Squad, which has topped the domestic box-office chart the past two weekends.”

“However, if tracking is correct, projections show Ben-Hur hitting no more than $15 million, despite a production budget of $100 million. MGM took the lead on the project and put up a larger share of the financing.”

The mostly poor reviews will likely hurt the movie’s opening weekend, as will its longer running time. It has some stiff competition from both Suicide Squad and Sausage Party, which had bigger opening weekends than expected and, in the case of Suicide Squad, has experienced a smaller drop-off than expected as well. This will also be the end of the summer movie season with school already starting in some corners of the country.

But while viewers who go to see Ben Hur will miss out on an after-credits scene, they will have a few extra minute to head out to the exits and get an early start going home.

[Image via Paramount Pictures]

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