For large files (100+ MBs), I found that it is essential to flush the file content ASAP, otherwise the download dialog doesn't show until a long time or never. 

<?php
header("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=" . urlencode($file));    
header("Content-Type: application/force-download");
header("Content-Type: application/octet-stream");
header("Content-Type: application/download");
header("Content-Description: File Transfer");             
header("Content-Length: " . filesize($file));
flush(); // this doesn't really matter.

$fp = fopen($file, "r"); 
while (!feof($fp))
{
    echo fread($fp, 65536); 
    flush(); // this is essential for large downloads
}  
fclose($fp); 
?>