Streaming viewership for Conclave and Two Popes soars after Pope Francis’ death
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English actor Ralph Fiennes played Cardinal Lawrence in Conclave.
PHOTO: SHAW ORGANISATION
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Interest in Conclave (2024) and The Two Popes (2019) – two Vatican-themed films – has spiked in the United States following the death of Pope Francis on April 21 at age 88.
Figures from Luminate, which tracks streaming data, show that the viewership for Conclave jumped 283 per cent on April 21, after news broke of Pope Francis’ death.
Streaming viewership for Conclave reached 6.9 million minutes by the end of April 21, compared with about 1.8 million minutes on April 20, according to Luminate.
Conclave, based on the 2016 novel of the same name by British writer Robert Harris, tells the story of the intrigue and horse-trading behind the scenes during the election of a new pope following the death of the previous pontiff.
The thriller was directed by Germany-born film-maker Edward Berger and starred actors such as Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini.
Conclave opened in Singapore cinemas on Jan 2 and is still showing here.
It was feted during awards season in February when Pope Francis was in critical condition with double pneumonia.
The film received eight nominations at the Academy Awards in March, including for Best Picture; Best Actor for Fiennes, 62; and Best Supporting Actress for Rossellini, 72. It won for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Two Popes starred Anthony Hopkins (left) as Pope Benedict XVI and Jonathan Pryce as Pope Francis.
PHOTO: NETFLIX
Meanwhile, according to Luminate, The Two Popes reported a 417 per cent leap in viewership on April 21, with the film logging 290,000 viewership minutes on April 20 and 1.5 million minutes the next day.
The biographical drama is an account of the 2013 transfer of power from Pope Benedict XVI to Pope Francis, in the first voluntary resignation of a pontiff in more than 700 years.
The Two Popes, directed by Brazilian film-maker Fernando Meirelles, starred Welsh actors Anthony Hopkins, 87, as Pope Benedict and Jonathan Pryce, 77, as Pope Francis. It is available on Netflix.
The film received three nominations at the Academy Awards in 2020: Best Actor for Pryce, Best Supporting Actor for Hopkins and Best Adapted Screenplay.
