The death of Pope Francis has resulted in a 283 per cent spike in fans streaming Conclave.
The former head of the Catholic Church passed away on Monday morning (April 21), aged 88. The official cause of death was a cerebral stroke, followed by “irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse”, according to a church statement.
Following his death, streaming of Conclave spiked 283 per cent as word of Pope Francis’ passing spread throughout the world, according to Luminate (via Variety), which tracks viewership of streaming content.
The film generated about 1.8million minutes viewed the day before (April 20) Pope Francis’ death, and by the end of April 21, that number had reached 6.9million minutes viewed.
Following a period of mourning, the process begins to find a new Pope through a papal conclave. This is where a secret gathering of The College Of Cardinals occurs. Cardinals from around the world go through a voting process which eventually results in the anointing of a new Pope, with the belief being that those voting are driven by the Holy Spirit.
The process was the subject of Conclave, which was first released in UK cinemas last November. Ralph Fiennes stars as the dean of the college, who organises the voting and uncovers scandals among the candidates. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Religious experts this week praised the accuracy of the film, which dramatises the selection of a new Pope, just as the process is set to begin following the death of Pope Francis.
Elsewhere, another Vatican-themed film, Netflix’s 2019 drama The Two Popes, also saw a significant increase in streams, spiking 417 per cent from Sunday, when it generated 290,000 minutes watched, to Monday, when it reached 1.5 million minutes watched.
Following The Pope’s death on Monday, a host of celebrities expressed their sadness at his passing, including Russell Crowe and Whoopi Goldberg.
Francis, who became pope in 2013 after his predecessor Benedict XVI resigned, was considered to be the most progressive pope to date, and had fans in several high-profile artists, with the likes of Martin Scorsese, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Bono, Leonardo DiCaprio and Angelina Jolie attending papal audiences with him over the years.