In the Roman Catholic Church, it was called the “Francis effect,” a feeling that the arrival of the more inclusive Pope Francis in 2013 would invigorate the faith and get people back in the pews.
On Monday, Francis’ passing at the age of 88 led to an effect of a different kind: a surge in viewership for Conclave, director Edward Berger’s Oscar-winning film about what happens in the Vatican when church leaders are locked in a room—or, well, the Sistine Chapel—to decide who will be the next pope.
Streaming viewership for Conclave increased 283 percent after Pope Francis’ death, jumping from 1.8 million minutes watched on April 20 to 6.9 million minutes watched on Monday, according to data from analytics firm Luminate. Netflix’s The Two Popes, meanwhile, saw a 417 percent increase in viewership over that same period, jumping from 290,000 minutes to 1.5 million minutes.
In some ways, these numbers are to be expected. Conclave’s arrival last year and eight Oscar nominations (it won for Best Adapted Screenplay) had already made it a popular film. The fact that the Vatican is about to start a real-life conclave in just a few days only increases the attention on the film. The Two Popes, meanwhile, is about Pope Francis himself, and the relationship he had with his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.
While the numbers are impressive, Luminate has seen similar boosts after other significant news events, according to spokesperson Jimmy Harney. When then-presidential candidate Donald Trump announced JD Vance as his running mate during the Republican National Convention last year, viewership for Netflix’s Hillbilly Elegy, based on Vance’s memoir, jumped 1,180 percent, according to Luminate. When news came out that Vice President Kamala Harris would likely be the Democrats’ candidate for president, US viewership for HBO’s Veep increased 353 percent.
Theoretically, Conclave’s viewership numbers could climb even higher in the coming days. On Monday, thanks to one of the many cumbersome deals that dictate the modern streaming landscape, viewers needed to rent or buy the movie in order to watch it. It cost between $6 and $20 on Amazon Prime Video. Early Tuesday, the movie became available to stream for Prime members.
Following Pope Francis’ death—an announcement that sent Catholics around the world into mourning—several news outlets (including this one) pointed to Conclave’s timeliness. The film, about a series of high-profile cardinals and their efforts to become the next pontiff, is a highly-dramatized, and drama-filled, version of what the secretive conclave process looks like.
Francis’ funeral will be held in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Saturday. Cardinals from around the world are headed to Italy to attend. After which, they will take part in the conclave, a name that’s derived from the Latin “with key,” meaning they will be locked in the historic church while they deliberate. No outside contact is permitted during the process; no phones, televisions, newspapers, or messages are allowed. Members of the College of Cardinals, the church’s most senior clergy, under the age of 80 get a vote, so about 135 of the 250-member body will be involved in the choosing.
According to Luminate data, other pope-centric films like Netflix’s Pope Francis biographic series Call Me Francis, haven’t seen the same huge spikes—yet. Maybe viewers just need to get back in the habit of watching Catholic content.
