Overview

• Producers held the finished film for a year before its 2024 release to avoid competition and strengthen its positioning.
• Interest in Conclave surged once Pope Francis died from a stroke and heart failure in April 2025.
• Pope Leo XIV reportedly watched the movie on the eve of the conclave to familiarise himself with the election process, according to his brother.
• Robert Harris revealed that Ralph Fiennes took the lead role after Robert De Niro and Javier Bardem were considered, prompting a change in the protagonist’s nationality.
• The adaptation earned eight Oscar nominations and won Best Adapted Screenplay for Peter Straughan’s script under Edward Berger’s direction.