Conclave -- a movie about a papal conclave -- was released only six months ago, and it was quite popular among cinephiles, becoming a major awards season contender. With that, it's not exactly a shock that, in the aftermath of Pope Francis' death, people are still gravitating toward the movie. However, it seems anybody who wanted to remember the Pope but didn’t have a Peacock subscription found another way to signify his death.
Back in 2019, Netflix released The Two Popes. The film starred Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Bergoglio, the future Pope Francis, and Anthony Hopkins (in one of his best movies) as Pope Benedict XVI, who in 2013 took the unusual step of actually stepping down as Pope, making way for Francis. The movie was an awards season darling in its own right, but it’s not a film a lot of people necessarily thought about for the last six years, but it recently became one of the most-watched movies on Netflix.
The Two Popes Viewership Exploded On Netflix
According to Netflix (via Variety), The Two Popes saw 3.2 global views for the week of April 21 -27, a 417% increase, which was good enough to place it in the #7 slot of the streamer's Top 10 movie list. For a six-year-old film, that’s an impressive leap and certainly an indication that the movie made more of an impression than it perhaps seemed at the time.
The Fernando Meirelles-helmed feature is quite simple, as it's almost entirely a dialogue between the current and future Pope as they discuss and debate the meaning, purpose and future of the Catholic faith. The conversations are, as far as anybody knows, completely fictional, though they are based on the speeches and published works of the two Catholic luminaries.
Certainly, considering that Pope Francis is actually a character in The Two Popes, and the character is built on the views of the real man, the film at least has the potential of helping people understand who Pope Francis was as a person.
Conclave Has Also Seen A Viewership Bump On Peacock
Conclave, a movie about the gathering to choose the new Pope, saw a 283% viewership increase immediately following the death of Pope Francis. The film had only been on Peacock for a brief period, so it was likely already getting significant views. However, it appears anybody who hadn’t sat down to watch it yet made a point to do so following learning of Francis' passing.
Given the actual conclave to choose Pope Francis’ successor is set to begin on May 7, we could see viewership of that movie continue to be strong for at least a couple more weeks. People will certainly wonder how close the ending of Conclave will bear to the real thing.
While the death of a Pope is certainly a major development for those belonging to the Catholic faith, it’s also a global historical event and one that happens so rarely that a lot of people, Catholic or not, are likely trying to put it into context. That’s certainly one of the things that great art can do.
On that note, grab yourself a Netflix subscription and stream The Two Popes, and head over to Peacock to watch Conclave.
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