'Conclave' viewership surges after Pope Francis' death

Los Angeles | The viewership of papal thriller drama "Conclave" has spiked 283 per cent following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, according to Luminate, which tracks viewership of streaming content.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who chose Francis as his papal name when he took over the Catholic Church in 2013, died on Monday at the age of 88.

"Conclave", which released in 2024 and won Peter Straughan the best adapted screenplay Oscar earlier this year, revolves around the selection of a new pontiff.

According to Luminate, as quoted by entertainment outlet Variety, "Conclave" is available on various PVOD (premium video on demand) platforms and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video without any extra cost to subscribers.

The film generated about 1.8 million minutes viewed on April 20 and by the end of April 21, that number had reached 6.9 million minutes viewed.

Based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Robert Harris, "Conclave" is directed by Edward Berger and stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini.

The film is set just after the death of a pope and follows the papal election process and the College of Cardinals convene to elect the Bishop of Rome.

Netflix's 2019 film "The Two Popes", another Vatican-themed film, also witnessed a surge in viewership on the platform. It follows Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins) as he attempts to convince cardinal Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) to reconsider his decision to resign as an archbishop as he confides his own intentions to abdicate the papacy.

Viewership spiked 417 per cent from Sunday, when it generated 290,000 minutes watched, to Monday, when it reached 1.5 million minutes watched.