Where to watch ‘Conclave’ online as you wait for the real conclave to begin
Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, died April 21 at age 88. His funeral will take place on Saturday. Within 15 to 20 days, the College of Cardinals will gather at the Sistine Chapel to start the process of the papal conclave, which will conclude with the election of a new pope.
We mean no disrespect to the late Pope by noting this coincidence. Still, there will likely be more interest in this papal conclave than usual due to the film Conclave, which was released last year and won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay earlier this month.
Conclave tells a fictional story about Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes), the dean of the College of Cardinals, who leads a conclave after the death of the sitting pope. As various contenders representing different schools of thought jockey for position, Lawrence investigates their closets for skeletons and finds plenty. The thrilling drama, directed by Edward Berger and written by Peter Straughan, is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Harris. The cast includes Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Academy Award nominee Isabella Rossellini. The film was nominated for a total of eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
If you want to get a dramatized sense of what will happen behind the closed doors of the conclave, you will want to watch Conclave. Here's where you can watch the film online, via subscription streaming and video-on-demand services.
Where is Conclave streaming?
Conclave is currently streaming on Prime Video, which is included with an Amazon Prime membership. It recently moved over to Prime Video from Peacock, where it made its streaming debut earlier this year. It is currently not available to stream on Netflix.
Where can I rent or buy Conclave?
If you don't have Prime Video, you can rent or buy Conclave on other platforms. Amazon is one option, where it can be rented for $5.99 or purchased for $19.99. It's also available on Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and Microsoft Home for the same price. If you have Spectrum, you can rent Conclave on demand for $6.99. Additionally, it's available to rent on FlixFling.
Is Conclave still in theaters?
No, Conclave finished its theatrical run earlier this year. It grossed $116 million worldwide.
How accurate is Conclave?
While Conclave is a fictional story, many of the details depicted in the film are based on real-life events. Cardinals are sequestered at the Casa Santa Marta and the Sistine Chapel until a new pope is selected, and they communicate to the outside world through smoke signals when rounds of voting are completed — black smoke if a pope has not been selected, and white smoke if one has.
It is anticipated that a debate similar to the one in the film between progressives and conservatives will take place during the real conclave. Pope Francis was a progressive who took more socially liberal stances on issues such as LGBTQ+ inclusion and climate change than his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who was a traditionalist.