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After Pope Francis's passing, people really want to know what happens next - which has led to a 283% bump in streaming viewership for 2024's new pope drama Conclave
Conclave, the 2025 Oscar Winner for Best Adapted Screenplay, is seeing a rise in popularity along with Netflix's The Two Popes, in watch Jonathan Pryce portrays the late Holy Father
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Life imitates art and, apparently, it's a popular imitation.
When the Edward Berger-directed, Ralph Fiennes-starring Conclave came to theaters last October, there was no way of knowing that the story it tells (that of what happens when a Pope dies) would go from fiction to front page. But now, with the April 21 passing of Pope Francis, that's the situation in which we find ourselves, and people curious about what might happen next are heading back to the film for answers.
According to Deadline, Conclave has gone up a staggering 283% in US streams.
Deadline cites in their reporting the website Luminate, which bills itself as "entertainment’s preeminent data and insights company." Interesting to note is that Deadline reminds readers that Luminate's data comes from all streaming platforms, and not just Prime Video, whose subscribers can stream Conclave as part of their plan. We only mention this to bring up the fact that, amongst those new or re-watchers of Conclave this week are some people paying out of pocket to see the movie.
But the news this week doesn't just have people curious about Francis's passing, but about his life as well. At least, that's the lesson that the simultaneous uptick in The Two Pope's popularity seems to suggest. Netflix's original film, which stars Jonathan Pryce as Francis and Anthony Hopkins as his predecessor Benedict, saw streaming numbers rise from 290,000 minutes watched on April 20 to 1.5M minutes watched April 21, for a 417% increase in viewership.
Surely some shrewd but morally scrupulous theater owner is watching these numbers with an eyebrow cocked - I'm just saying.
Conclave is streaming on Prime Video now, in case you'd like to make your own contribution.
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