Conclave: Everything we know about the Golden Globe-winning political thriller's Oscar nomination run

Conclave is a film that was well-received after its release on October 25, 2024. The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and eventually became a critical and commercial success after its release. It is directed by Edward Berger, who infused life into Peter Straughan's screenplay. The film is about a group of Catholics trying to find a new successor after the death of their pope.

The film has now received eight nominations for the Academy Awards. An adaptation of the eponymous book by Robert Harris, the film did well at the Golden Globe and is now gearing up to have a run at the Oscars.

Conclave receives multiple Oscar nominations

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Conclave has received eight nominations for Oscars in different categories. This includes Best Picture, Best Actor (Ralph Fiennes), Best Supporting Actress (Isabella Rossellini), Best Adapted Screenplay (Peter Straugh), Best Original Score (Volker Bertelmann), Best Editing (Nick Emerson), Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.

This major update for the film comes after Peter Straugh took home the Best Screenplay award at the Golden Globe Awards. The chances of the film bagging at least one win can be considered high. With eight nominations, Conclave is trailing behind Emilia Perez, The Brutalist, and Wicked, which have 13 and 10 nominations, respectively.

The film, released by Focus Features, is produced by Tessa Ross, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini.

Conclave's writer spoke about the criticism

While Conclave has been a success and is winning awards, the film has received some criticism for its depiction of Catholics. Responding to these criticisms, Peter Straughan said that he did not intend to insult anyone and simply wanted to explore the tussle for power between leaders:

“I think the core message of ‘Conclave’ is about the Church always having to re-find its spiritual core, because it deals so much with power. That’s always been a careful, difficult balance.”

The film's producer, Tessa Ross, spoke to GoldDerby about the Oscar nomination. She expressed her thoughts on the director getting snubbed for a nomination:

“In the end, you and I both know there are lots of wonderful directors and it’s not like any of them aren’t deserving. There are less slots there than there are for best film, which is always complicated. But we’re all in honor of him I think, truthfully. We’re all here thanks to him, from [production] design to costume design to editor to music to cast, it’s all down to him. So [Berger] is very present in all of the nominations.”

Ross further said:

“Getting a film made well and before an audience that’s loving it and then it getting prizes is wonderful. All of these things [ultimately] add up to the reason you do it, which is to make great work with great people. But when you realize you might be in the [awards] conversation, it becomes an end point. But in fact, putting great work into the world and working with great people is the point. Still, it’s all just completely wonderful that people are celebrating what we do and doing it so publicly.”

The Academy Award ceremony will take place on March 2, 2025.