Poster © Black Bear UK. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreDrama & Thriller
RatedPG
Runtime2 hr
ReleasedOctober 25, 2024
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorEdward Berger
StarringRalph Fiennes, Carlos Diehz, Sergio Castellitto
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Conclave (2024)
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| Conclave's Details | |
| Genre | Drama & Thriller |
| Rated | PG |
| Released | 08/30/2024 (Telluride); 10/25/2024 (United States); 11/29/2024 (United Kingdom) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr |
| Budget | $20M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Conclave by Robert Harris |
| Country | United Kingdom, United States |
| Language | English |
| Conclave's Interests | |
| General | Sealed doors, paper ballots, red robes, the Sistine Chapel chimney, whispers in hallways. |
| Music | Volker Bertelmann. The strings sound like someone whispering behind a door. |
| Movies | The Two Popes (2019). Another Vatican story, warmer and chattier. |
| Television | The Young Pope. Jude Law takes the Vatican in a very different direction. |
| Heroes | Sister Agnes. She says little and notices everything. |
| Conclave's Crew | |
| Director | Edward Berger |
| Writers | Peter Straughan |
| Producers | Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell, Michael Jackman, Alice Dawson, Robert Harris |
| Cinematography | Stéphane Fontaine |
| Music | Volker Bertelmann |
| Edited By | Nick Emerson |
| Production | FilmNation Entertainment, Indian Paintbrush, House Productions |
| Distributed By | Black Bear UK (United Kingdom), Focus Features (United States) |
Paper ballots, a locked door and a chimney are the whole arsenal, and Conclave turns them into a thriller that’s gripping until the last stretch, where one final surprise lands more like a message than a story beat. Ralph Fiennes is the reason it works. His Cardinal Lawrence is a tired, decent man running an election he has doubts about, and Fiennes plays his doubt with care instead of cynicism. Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow are great as rivals who smile at each other in hallways. Isabella Rossellini gets a handful of scenes as Sister Agnes and makes every one count. Edward Berger shoots the Vatican like a beautiful locked box, all red robes, smoke and long silences. The movie takes faith seriously, and it lets the politics be the human part. It made $127.9 million worldwide on a reported $20M. An 8.2 because it’s smart, gorgeous and respectful, with an ending people will argue about at dinner. $402 says you see smoke rising from a chimney this winter and wait a beat to check what color it is.
What works: Ralph Fiennes gives a quiet, searching performance, and the tight, gorgeous filmmaking makes every vote count feel like a cliffhanger.
What doesn’t: The final reveal feels more like a statement than a natural turn of the story, and a few cardinals are drawn as types.
Who it’s for: Fans of slow-burn political thrillers, and anyone curious how a pope actually gets chosen.
Spoilers
After the front-runners fall away through scandal and rivalry, the cardinals elect Benitez, the quiet Archbishop of Kabul. Lawrence then learns a deeply private secret about Benitez, one Benitez only discovered as an adult, and he keeps the confidence and accepts the result.
The pope has died, and Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) has the job of running the conclave that picks the next one. Cardinals from around the world are sealed inside the Vatican with no phones and no news. The front-runners all want it: progressive Bellini (Stanley Tucci), moderate Tremblay (John Lithgow), Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati) of Nigeria, and the traditionalist Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto). Sister Agnes (Isabella Rossellini) watches everything quietly. Then a cardinal almost nobody knew existed arrives at the door, and the whispers start. Edward Berger directs. One hundred twenty minutes, keep an eye on the chimney.
Anyone who can keep a secret behind closed doors. Phones stay outside.
Cardinal Goffredo Tedescophoto: Sergio_Castellitto_66ème_Festival_de_Venise_(Mostra)_3.jpg: nicolas genin; derivative work: RanZag, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sister Agnes of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent dephoto: Kalai Ramu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
| Ralph Fiennes | Cardinal Thomas Lawrence |
| Stanley Tucci | Cardinal Aldo Bellini |
| John Lithgow | Cardinal Joseph Tremblay |
| Lucian Msamati | Cardinal Joshua Adeyemi |
| Brían F. O'Byrne | Monsignor Raymond O'Malley |
| Carlos Diehz | Cardinal Vincent Benitez |
| Sergio Castellitto | Cardinal Goffredo Tedesco |
| Jacek Koman | Archbishop Janusz Woźniak |
| Isabella Rossellini | Sister Agnes of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de |
| Balkissa Maiga | Sister Shanumi |
| Merab Ninidze | Cardinal Giulio Sabbadin |
| Thomas Loibl | Archbishop Wilhelm Mandorff |
| Loris Loddi | Cardinal Modesto Villanueva |
| Roberto Citran | Cardinal Lombardi |
| Bruno Novelli | the deceased Pope |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 7.4 / 10 (289,649 votes) → 7.4 / 10 (289,722 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +520 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $127.9M; Domestic box office $32.6M; Opening weekend $6.6M; Profit / loss (est.) +$34M; Rotten Tomatoes 93%; CinemaScore B+; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 93% (318 reviews); Metacritic 79 / 100; PostTrak audience 84% positive; CinemaScore B+; IMDb users 7.4 / 10 (289,649 votes); movie.guru score 7.9.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.