Complex sentence: Although the budget for "Ben-Hur" was initially $7 million, it was reported to be $10 million by February 1958, reaching $15 million by the time shooting began--making it the costliest film ever produced up to that time.
Split into simpler sentences: Although the budget for "Ben-Hur" was initially $7 million, it was reported to be $10 million by February 1958. It reached $15 million by the time shooting began--making it the costliest film ever produced up to that time.