Conclave’s viewership numbers have officially skyrocketed. This comes after Pope Francis passed away on Monday, April 21, at the age of 88. Thematically,Conclaveis a 2024 movie about the aftermath of a fictional Pope’s death, chronicling the highly secretive papal election that ensues. The film was directed by Edward Berger and features a leading cast includingRalph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, Lucian Msamati, Isabella Rossellini, and Jacek Koman. The movie was nominated for multiple Oscars and won Best Adapted Screenplay.
PerWired,Conclavehas seen a major viewership spike in the wake of Pope Francis' death. According to the source,the film’s viewership shot up 283%. The movie had 1.8 million minutes watched on April 20, and 6.9 million minutes on April 21, the day of the pope’s death. These numbers come from Luminate. The Netflix movieThe Two Popesalso saw an increase in viewership, increasing by 417%.
Conclave Also Did Well In Theaters
Following the death of Pope Francis,Conclaveis more relevant than ever. The real-life conclave will start shortly, as the process happens no earlier than 16 days and no later than 21 days after the pope’s death. This year, that means that the papal election will begin around May 6 to May 12. WithConclaveavailable to stream, audiences will likely keep watching the film as they may want to develop a greater understanding of how these elections work.
Conclave’s post-mortem streaming success comes after the film fared decently in theaters. The movie ended up making $115.6 million worldwide, which is a sizable total given the film’s estimated $20 million budget.Conclavealso received positive reviews, getting a93% Tomatometerand an 86% Popcornmeter among audiences.ScreenRant’s Graeme Guttmann gave the film 9 out of 10 stars, writing, “Watching actors like Lithgow, Fiennes, and Tucci chew scenery in some of the oldest buildings in the world is like a drug for anyone that loves character actors.”
Conclave Could Have Prolonged Success
Not only isConclaveVatican-centric, but its recent release makes it fresh in audience’s minds. It will likely be most popular in the immediate days following the passing of Pope Francis, but I would not be surprised if it has some prolonged success over the next few days or weeks. After all, it is the real-life conclave that will most match the events of the film. WhileConclave’s twist endingis almost certain not to play out in reality, it will be interesting to see how much of the discourse surrounding the papal election mirrors that of the film.
Conclave
Cast
Cardinal Lawrence leads the secretive papal election at the Vatican, where he uncovers a conspiracy and a secret that could destabilize the Church’s foundation as leaders gather from around the world.
