How to deal with the death of a world figure like the Pope Fringe?With prayers, rituals and – apparently – movies.
Streaming minutes for “Conclave,” the Oscar-winning film that explores the process of electing a new pope, surged this week after news of the pope’s death, according to tracking firm Luminate. Netflix’s 2019 film “The Two Popes” also saw a surge in viewership.
Even before Amazon Prime Video made “Conclave” available at no extra cost to subscribers on Tuesday, the film’s daily U.S. viewing hours jumped to 6,9 million minutes on Monday, up from 966.000 minutes the previous Monday. On Tuesday, viewing hours jumped to 18,3 million, up from 574.000 minutes the previous Tuesday.
“The data shows a +3.200 percent increase in viewership compared to the previous week,” Luminate said.
Given the jump that "Conclave" recorded on Monday, Luminate attributes the viewership to the death of the Pope and Amazon's decision to make the film free for Prime subscribers.
The film "Conclave", released in October 2024 and based on the thriller of the same name Robert Harris from 2016, won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and follows the fictionalized process of electing a pope (and all the intrigue) after the death of the previous pope. The candidates for the papacy are interpreted by Rafe Fiennes, Stanley Tucci i John Lithgow, among others. Secrets come to light and tensions rise as the number of candidates narrows.
The process of electing a pope depicted in “Conclave” is fairly accurate, according to experts. The depictions of various ritual actions, including how cardinals count votes by reading the contents of ballots aloud, threading them through a thread and then burning them, are “mostly accurate,” he said. Piotr H. Kosicki, associate professor of history at the University of Maryland.
However, in his blog comments, the cardinal Sean O'Malley former Archbishop of Boston, said that the 2013 conclave, which elected Pope Francis, was "a much different experience than the one depicted in the film."
"Despite its artistic and entertainment value," he said, "I don't think the film does a good job of portraying the spiritual reality of what the conclave really is."
Netflix's film "The Two Popes," a biographical drama about Pope Francis and his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, also saw a surge in viewership — Luminate reports a 417 percent increase. According to Luminate, the 2019 film had 290.000 minutes of viewing on Sunday, compared to 1,5 million minutes on Monday.
Why do these films attract so much attention from viewers around the world?
The conclave – the election of a new pope – takes place behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel. It is highly ritualized and full of symbolism. Films like “The Conclave” or “The Two Popes” visualize and dramatize this otherwise inaccessible process: they show how cardinals debate, lobby, vote, show the struggle between conservative and liberal currents, and add a human dimension to spiritual figures.
This dramatization helps viewers connect emotionally and intellectually with the event.
The quality production and famous actors in both films are added value, and both films have high production value, strong scripts and great actors: Fiennes, Tucci and Lithgow in "Conclave", Anthony Hopkins i Jonathan Price in "The Two Popes".
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