As the Vatican readies itself for the election of a new pope, people worldwide are turning their attention to a cinematic portrayal of the process—by streaming the film Conclave. The movie, directed by Edward Berger and winner of this year’s Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, offers an intimate look into the Vatican’s secretive papal election rituals. Following the death of Pope Francis on Monday, the film witnessed a significant spike in viewership, according to entertainment data analytics firm Luminate.
Set against the backdrop of the Vatican, Conclave dives into the intricacies of the pope selection process, a ritual steeped in centuries-old tradition. Berger’s film takes creative liberties while staying largely faithful to the actual procedures, and features a power struggle among cardinals portrayed by renowned actors Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow. The movie is distributed by Focus Features, which is owned by NBC News’ parent company, Comcast.
Since its initial release in October, the movie has amassed a devoted fan following online. Social media platforms have been flooded with viral memes and creative fan edits comparing the film to mainstream pop culture icons like The Real Housewives and Mean Girls. As tributes to Pope Francis continued to pour in from around the world, a growing number of both longtime fans and new viewers turned to Conclave to gain insights into what happens behind Vatican walls during such pivotal moments.
From Sunday to Monday, Luminate reported that viewership of Conclave surged by a staggering 283 percent. On Sunday, the film logged an average of 1.8 million minutes viewed. That figure leaped to 6.9 million minutes by Monday. Luminate compiles data from major streaming platforms including Netflix, Peacock, Paramount+, Disney+, and Max.
Despite the film’s dramatic rise in popularity, Focus Features did not respond to a request for comment on the recent streaming numbers.
On social media, many pointed out the uncanny parallels between the film’s storyline and the actual events surrounding the papal succession. The timing of Pope Francis’ death and the content of Conclave seemed to resonate with global audiences, sparking renewed discussion about the themes explored in the movie.
Among the voices chiming in was the administrator behind “Pope Crave,” a fan account on X dedicated entirely to Conclave. The person behind the account spoke with NBC News via email and requested anonymity, asking to be referred to only by their username due to the need for “separation” between their professional career and their “fandom extracurriculars.” Pope Crave, who commands a following of 16,000 on X, offered insight into the film’s relevance during a time of collective mourning and transition.
“I think there’s a lot of grief and pain attached to current events, and being able to use Conclave memes as a common/shared language of community offers some brevity and humor to a clandestine process and historical event that will significantly alter the trajectory of many peoples’ lives,” Pope Crave said.
When asked about the religious demographics of the film’s fan base, Pope Crave noted, “I cannot speak for the religious breakdown of Conclave fans, but it doesn’t shock me that Catholic fans of the film would be engaged in the actual papal conclave outcomes. And for the non-Catholic Conclave fans, I would hypothesize there’s something to be said about the abrupt relevance and sudden application of their film knowledge and fandom enthusiasm to a seismically important current global event that holds importance to over 1.25 billion practitioners (and even more non-believers).”
Michael Moreland, a professor specializing in law and religion at Villanova University, said the movie’s popularity highlights the enduring fascination with the Catholic Church’s ancient customs, even in a largely secular world. The papal conclave process involves cardinals from around the world, all under the age of 80, who are sworn to secrecy. They gather in the Sistine Chapel and cast paper ballots until one among them secures a two-thirds majority to become the next pope.
“All the charisma and the mystery around Catholicism and the ways in which these men in the College of Cardinals go about assembling and deliberating and voting in the secret process that no one except one of them has seen,” Moreland explained. “All of that is very fascinating.”
Moreland also noted that Conclave provides a fairly accurate portrayal of how potential papal candidates gain and lose traction during the voting rounds. However, he was critical of the film’s emphasis on political ideology, stating that the movie sometimes reduces the election process to a simplistic binary of left versus right.
“The significance of the theological and spiritual aspects of Catholicism and this process of electing a pope was kind of reduced into partisan politics,” Moreland remarked.
Coincidentally, Amazon Prime made Conclave available to stream on Tuesday, though Amazon clarified that the release was pre-scheduled and not timed with the pope’s passing. The availability of the film on Amazon added to its soaring popularity. By the end of the day Tuesday, the film had shattered its previous viewership records, with a reported 18.3 million views across all streaming services. This marked a massive 3,200 percent increase in week-over-week viewership, according to Luminate’s updated data.
Although many cast members from Conclave have yet to issue public statements regarding the death of Pope Francis, they previously spoke about the film’s topical relevance. At the Screen Actors Guild Awards in February, during a period when Pope Francis was critically ill, the cast commented on how current events had increased the film’s impact.
“The film has ended up extremely timely … and it’s about the social organism electing a leader,” said John Lithgow, who plays Cardinal Tremblay, one of the leading contenders for the papacy in the film.
“You cannot help seeing Conclave and not thinking what happens when different tribes quarrel with each other trying to decide on who is their leader,” he added. “That’s one big reason why people are paying attention to Conclave, beyond the fact that it’s simply a beautiful film that you just don’t see storytelling on film like that much anymore.”
The Vatican announced that Pope Francis’ funeral will be held at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. Eastern Time) on Saturday in St. Peter’s Square, in front of the iconic St. Peter’s Basilica. The conclave to elect his successor will follow the funeral service.