‘Conclave’ Elects To Continue Its Global Box Office Crusade As It Approaches New Milestone

Having delivered a respectable performance at the domestic box office, the drama-thriller Conclave has begun its international roll-out ahead of the Oscars season. The movie is expected to be a top contender across various categories, and appears to be ticking all the right boxes commercially as well. Conclave is now approaching a new global box office milestone, having already earned over twice its reported production budget. The movie is based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Robert Harris, and follows the tense events surrounding the election of a new Pope.

With $31 million domestically and another $26 million from overseas markets, Conclave has earned a cumulative global haul of $57 million so far. It should pass the $60 million milestone this weekend. The movie was produced on a reported budget of $20 million, which makes it a terrific little hit at a time when the viability of movies aimed at adult audiences was being called into question. Directed by Edward Berger, Conclave opened to excellent reviews, and appears to have settled at a “fresh” 93% approval rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.

The film’s audience score on RT stands at 86%. In his review, Collider’s Jason Gorber described the film as “tonally perfect,” and called it “a blast of brilliance, with a supremely compelling story driven by some astonishing performances.” Conclave stars Ralph Fiennes in the lead role of a cardinal tasked with carrying out the election of a new Pope, while battling ambitious men with brittle egos, and contemplating his own loss of faith.

'Conclave' Is a Major Awards Contender

Berger broke onto the scene with the anti-war epic All Quiet on the Western Front, which earned nine Academy Award nominations a couple of years ago, and won the BAFTA for Best Film. Fiennes starred in the critically acclaimed dark comedy The Menu, which made around $80 million worldwide in 2022. He has emerged as quite the bankable movie star in recent years, which is especially remarkable at a time when the industry is flooded by IP-driven properties. The acclaimed film also stars Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini.

Conclave is available to stream on Peacock, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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