The film's poor showing is just the latest sign that Hollywood can not take the audience's appetite for spectacle for granted, and that big budgets don't necessarily mean big returns – especially where so-called "faith-based" films are concerned.

The update of the story of two brothers on opposite sides of the Roman occupation of Judea in the time of Christ reportedly cost $US100 million ($131 million) to make. Naturally, it features a spectacular chariot race as its action centrepiece.

But this Ben-Hur is in fact the sixth screen adaptation of the tale, which is based on the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by former Civil War general Lew Wallace. The first, a 15-minute short film, was released in 1907. The most famous, starring Charlton Heston, was released in 1959 and won 11 Oscars, including best picture, best actor and best director. There was also an animated movie in 2003 (for which Heston provided the voice of the title character) and a TV mini-series in 2010.

The new film was co-produced by Survivor creator Mark Burnett, who has in recent years expanded his slate from reality TV shows such as The Apprentice, Rock Star and Shark Tank to faith-based content including The Bible, Son of God and A.D. The Bible Continues.

To a man with such a track record of success, Ben-Hur must have looked close to a sure thing.

The faith-based market has been the cause for much excitement in Hollywood in recent years, with a number of films made for relatively low budgets performing well beyond expectations – and doing well not just at home but also in those countries with a strong Christian audience, such as the Philippines and Latin America.

Ben-Hur aimed to capitalise on that market. It is co-produced by Lightworkers Media, a subsidiary of MGM but a company Burnett used to run with his producer wife Roma Downey (she is still one of its principals). On the company's site, Burnett and Downey talk explicitly about the new film as a piece of proselytising.

"This story is not just one of the great stories of all time, it's also a story about Jesus – about faith," says Burnett.

"You can use this website to access preaching and teaching resources," says Downey, sitting beside him. "Whether you're a minister, youth leader or a person just deeply committed to faith, we'd love your help to make Ben-Hur a meaningful event for you and your entire community."

But recent results suggest the faith-based market might not operate on the same principles as the rest of Hollywood.

God's Not Dead, released in 2014, made almost $US63 million on a budget of $US2 million. The same year, Heaven is For Real, starring Greg Kinnear, made $US101 million on a budget of $US12 million. This year's Miracles from Heaven, a supposedly true story starring Jennifer Garner, made $US73 million from its $US13 million budget. Most famously of all, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (2004) made $US611 million on a budget of $US30 million.

Each of them was essentially an intimate story in which an individual's faith is tested and found to be strong (yes, even Gibson's blood-soaked drama).

And there's a mounting pile of evidence to suggest that in this corner of filmmaking, bigger isn't necessarily better. While Darren Aronofsky's Noah (2014) took $US362 million worldwide on a budget of $US125 million, Ridley Scott's biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) made only $US268 million on a budget of $US140 million. When its marketing and distribution costs are factored in, it almost certainly failed to break even. Now, we can tentatively add Ben-Hur to the litany of those that aimed big and fell short.

Perhaps there's a message in all this, a good word that Burnett might spread to his fellow filmmakers: In the world of faith-based filmmaking, you might as well keep that special effects budget in your pocket, because the only kind of miracle the faithful are interested in can't be conjured with CGI.

Ben-Hur opens in Australia this Thursday.

Follow Karl Quinn on facebook at karlquinnjournalist or on twitter @karlkwin