'Conclave,' 'The Two Popes' viewership rises after Pope Francis' death
MANILA, Philippines — The viewership numbers for papal movies "Conclave" and "The Two Popes" shot up in the wake of Pope Francis' passing.
Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope, died last April 21, Easter Monday, from a stroke and irreversible cardiovascular arrest, weeks after being hospitalized. He was 88 years old.
The death and funeral of a pope is followed by a "conclave," a process dramatized in the Ralph Fiennes-starrer "Conclave" released last year.
The movie is available for streaming on various platforms. According to streaming content tracker Luminate, views of the film went up by 283% the day Pope Francis' death was announced.
On April 20, "Conclave" had 1.8 million minutes viewed, and by the end of April 21, it rose to 6.9 million minutes. The film has a runtime of two hours, meaning it was viewed 57,500 times in one day.
Meanwhile, the Netflix movie "The Two Popes," a fictional retelling of conversations Pope Francis had with his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, also saw a rise in viewership.
Related: Pope Francis's funeral set for Saturday, world leaders expected
It saw a 417% spike, going from 290,000 minutes to 1.5 million minutes watched by the end of April 21. That movie is longer than "Conclave" by five minutes, so it was viewed 12,000 times in a day.
Both films were Oscar contenders in their respective years, with "Conclave" winning for Best Adapted Screenplay as it was based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Robert Harris.
In the book, the eventual victor of the papacy was a Filipino, but the character in the movie was changed to a Mexican, portrayed by Carlos Diehz.
"Conclave" also received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor for Fiennes, Best Supporting Actress for Isabella Rossellini, Best Original Score, Best Editing, Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design.
"The Two Popes" also scored a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination as it was based on screenwriter Anthony McCarten's own play, "The Pope."
Jonathan Pryce was nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of Francis, then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, while Anthony Hopkins was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for playing Pope Benedict XVI.
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