Oscar-winning movie “Conclave” has moved up the streaming charts following the passing of Pope Francis earlier this week.
The film, which won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay earlier this year, was Prime Video’s most-watched movie in the days after the pontiff’s passing, and across all platforms “Conclave” saw a 283 percent increase in viewership.
The papal intrigue has many people wanting to see how the process of picking a new pope really works – but is the film more fact or fiction?
While it’s only been a few days since Pope Francis’ death, experts said the process is already in motion. While they said the movie is accurate in its depiction of Vatican rituals, it won’t be a dramatic process.
Leading up to the vote itself, Cardinals have daily meetings but the vote itself is expected to only take a day.
“The intrigue, the disputes about which direction the church should take, those do not take place in the conclave anymore,” said Fr. James Weiss, an expert on papal conclaves. “Three of the last four conclaves were settled on the first day by the early afternoon.”
The movie shows how secretive the process is: the vote is behind closed doors and Cardinals vow to never discuss what happened.
Cardinals will vote until a two-thirds majority have chosen a new pontiff; for the upcoming conclave, that will be 90 votes.
The conclave can not begin until at least 16 days days after the Pope’s death, so it could start as early as May 6 or as late as May 12.
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