As the Catholic Church prepares for its first papal conclave in 12 years following the death of Pope Francis, many are turning to the hit 2024 thriller Conclave for a glimpse into the high-stakes drama of selecting a new pope. The film, starring Ralph Fiennes, dramatizes the gathering of the world’s most influential Catholic cardinals as they assemble in the Vatican to vote for a new leader of the Church.
With Pope Francis’ death at the age of 88, the real-life papal conclave will soon take center stage, mirroring the intense and secretive process depicted in the film. The convergence of these events has sparked renewed interest in the papal election, both through the lens of cinema and as it unfolds in reality, drawing global attention to the Church’s next chapter.
As news of Pope Francis’ death spread on Monday, viewers flocked to streaming services to watch Conclave, the 2024 thriller that dramatizes the selection of a new pope. According to Variety, the film saw a massive surge in viewership, jumping by an impressive 283%.
Prior to the announcement of the pope’s death, Conclave had garnered approximately 1.8 million viewership minutes on April 20. The day after the news broke, that number skyrocketed to 6.9 million, reflecting the heightened public interest in the real-life papal conclave and the movie’s portrayal of the process. The film, which earned eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, has tapped into the global fascination with the historic events now unfolding within the Vatican.
The surge in interest following the death of Pope Francis has not only benefitted Conclave, but also sparked a significant spike in viewership for The Two Popes (2019), a Netflix film depicting the real-life interactions between Pope Benedict XVI (played by Anthony Hopkins) and Cardinal Bergoglio (played by Jonathan Pryce), the future Pope Francis.
According to reports, The Two Popes saw a 417% increase in viewership from Sunday to Monday. The film earned 290,000 viewing minutes on Sunday, but that number soared to 1.5 million on Monday, as viewers sought to explore the relationship between the two popes leading up to the papacy of Francis.
Meanwhile, Conclave, based on Robert Harris’ 2016 novel, continues to capture widespread attention. The film, currently free to stream on Amazon’s Prime Video and available on other premium video-on-demand platforms, tells the story of Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), who is assigned to organize the papal conclave. In the process, he uncovers a web of scandals and secrets surrounding the top candidates.
The movie, which won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, also starred Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini. After debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival, Conclave grossed $32.5 million domestically and $115.6 million worldwide, significantly outpacing its $20 million budget.
The coinciding events of the papal death have certainly fueled global interest in films exploring the drama and intricacies of papal elections, and both Conclave and The Two Popes are now enjoying the benefits of this renewed public fascination.#newsafro_
