Speculation surrounding a conclave to elect a pope is a time-honored tradition. But for the impending conclave following the death of Pope Francis, the ranks of armchair Vatican experts have swelled thanks to Hollywood.

The death of Pope Francis has brought a rise in viewership of last month’s best picture nominee “Conclave,” a drama that brings to the life the centuries-old ritual by which the Catholic church selects a new pope.

Conclave,” the Academy Award-winning film directed by Edward Berger and starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini and John Lithgow, opens with a sobering sequence in which several prominent figures in the Roman Catholic Church gather around the recently deceased pope behind closed doors.