"Conclave" might just be this year's Best Picture winner.
It's certainly a strong contender for a few Oscars at next year's Academy Awards. It's received near-universally positive reviews since debuting at the Telluride Film Festival in August and it's done surprisingly well at the box office, already recouping its $20 million budget.
So with "Conclave" officially a critical hit and a popular choice for moviegoers, it's no surprise that people are interested to see when it will finally be available on one of the best streaming services. The good news is we know which one it will end up on. We have a pretty good idea of when you'll be able to buy or rent it from premium video-on-demand (PVOD) services before it ultimately hits streaming video-on-demand (SVOD).
Let's break down what "Conclave" is about, where you should be able to stream it and when you can expect it to be available to stream.
What is 'Conclave' about?
"Conclave" stars Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence. When the pope suddenly dies of a heart attack, Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with leading the conclave to choose the new pope.
Part of that task involves digging into the closets of each papal candidate to dig up any skeletons that may be hidden within. That includes the four Cardinals that are considered the leading candidates: Bellini (Stanley Tucci), a liberal; Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), a social conservative; Tremblay (John Lithgow), a mainstream conservative; and Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), a reactionary traditionalist.
But it also includes Archbishop Vincent Benitez of Kabul (Carlos Diehz), who surprises everyone when he arrives to the papal conclave, claiming that the late pope secretly made him a cardinal.
While this may not be the deepest mystery thriller, you won't care after watching the incredible performance from Fiennes, as well as great supporting performances from Tucci, Lithgow, Castellitto and Isabella Rossellini. Here's where you'll be able to stream "Conclave."
Where to stream "Conclave"
There are quite a few streaming services that could be the home for "Conclave," but we can confirm that "Conclave" will be on Peacock.
The movie is distributed by Focus Features, which is owned by Universal Pictures. That means it's part of NBCUniversal, which almost always puts its new movies on Peacock once they're available for streaming.
If you head over to Peacock right now, there's even a whole Universal Pictures and Focus Features section to showcase movies that were distributed by Focus Features — just like "Conclave."
"Conclave" streaming release date
So we know "Conclave" is coming to Peacock. Now the question remains — when is it coming?
The good news is we have a movie that should be a good reference point for predicting when "Conclave" will arrive on Peacock. Last year, "The Holdovers" was a lower-budget movie that started gaining Oscar buzz due to some star performances. It too, was a Focus Feature movie that debuted at Telluride and then got a wide release at the end of October. Just like "Conclave" this year.
Plus, "The Holdovers" was released on PVOD services on November 30, 2023, following its October 27, 2023 wide theatrical release in the U.S. "Conclave," which was released wide to U.S. theaters on October 25 is currently expected to be released on PVOD services like Amazon and Apple on November 25 (h/t When to Stream).
So given that "Conclave" is so closely following what Focus Features did with "The Holdovers," we can expect its Peacock streaming date to follow a similar cadence. Given that "The Holdovers" debuted on Peacock on December 29, the last Friday of the year, we predict that "Conclave" will be released on Peacock on Friday, December 27.
