JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
During the heat of the U.S. election campaign, there was this backroom drama about a different type of secret ballot.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CONCLAVE")
JOHN LITHGOW: (As Tremblay) The Pope is dead. The throne is vacant.
SUMMERS: "Conclave" is a movie, a thriller about Catholic cardinals gathering in the Vatican to select a new pope. It's not giving away any plot twists to say that their holy rituals meet their worldly ambitions. And four weeks on, it's done something that other films have struggled to do since the pandemic. It's gotten a whole lot of adults to go to movie theaters. Rebecca Rubin is Variety's senior film and media reporter, and she joins us now. Hi there.
REBECCA RUBIN: Hi. Thanks for having me.
SUMMERS: Thanks for being here. Rebecca, tell us, if you can, what kind of box office success are we talking about here?
RUBIN: So "Conclave," at this point, has made over $25 million. It's expected to make over 30 at the end of its run in theaters. And it's pretty significant because it's really catering toward older audiences, and a lot of the movies that have been released post pandemic in that - catering to that demo have not really crossed the $20 million mark.
SUMMERS: What has it done to cater to an older audience specifically? Is there something about this movie that just makes it really resonate for older folks?
RUBIN: Yeah, it's a really commercial movie. And it's smart, but it's not overly arty, and so I think that makes it really accessible to people. I think that the cast is a real draw here. You have people like Stanley Tucci, Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini.
There's a quality that's been associated with the film. Reviews have been really strong. But more than that, there's been word of mouth, which is basically saying that moviegoers are not just watching the film in theaters, but they're leaving the theater and telling their friends, you have to go see this as well. And that's really helped it catch on.
SUMMERS: Yeah. There's a statistic that jumped out to me from your story, and it's that over half of the ticket buyers for this movie are over the age of 55. When is the last time a film oriented to this audience did these kinds of numbers?
RUBIN: I would say probably pre-pandemic this was more common. Younger audiences have mostly returned. We've seen huge successes in the superhero genre. "Barbie" is one example that really brought in younger crowds. And so that's what's so significant about this, is that there hasn't really been a movie that's gotten older audiences to come out in this quantity.
SUMMERS: We can't talk about "Conclave" without talking about the buzz online and, of course, the memes. Have you seen them?
RUBIN: Yes, of course.
SUMMERS: Do you have a favorite?
RUBIN: OK. There's one that I saw that said "Conclave" is first and foremost a movie for nosy people. And I feel like that's kind of what makes the movie so compelling, is because you feel like you're a fly on the wall, and you get to hear and be part of all these conversations that most people don't get to be part of.
SUMMERS: And Rebecca, when you say people there, you mean a different word, one that we maybe can't say on air.
RUBIN: Yeah, that is right.
SUMMERS: What kind of lessons do you think that studios can learn about the success of a project like this one?
RUBIN: I think there's been a real absence of these smart adult dramas, and it's sort of a chicken and egg situation. Is it because studios aren't putting as many of them out? Is it because audiences are not going to see them? So I think that's what it's showing the art house specialty studios - that audiences need a reason to go to theaters when there are so many options online at home on streaming services, and so it needs to have a little something to set it apart. And if it has that, then they'll go see it.
SUMMERS: Rebecca Rubin - her story for Variety magazine is called "How 'Conclave' Became One Of Award Season's Biggest Indie Box Office Hits." Thanks so much.
RUBIN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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