Older Demos, Still Elusive, Bless ‘Conclave’ Amid Indie Surge – Specialty Box Office

By: Jill Goldsmith

Four top films this weekend are indies – five including The Substance at no. 11, as the specialty market roars back to life. No. 3 at the domestic box office is a great story, Conclave from Focus Features, the studio behind the Downtown Abbey films. excels at drawing still elusive but key older demos to theaters and broadening out from there as it did most recently with Oscar-winning The Holdovers.

The Vatican thriller by Edward Berger (whose All Quiet On The Western Front took the Best International Feature Oscar in 2023) and starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini opened to a sweet $6.5 million at about 1,750 theaters. The kicker is that some 77% of the audience is over 35 with the biggest chunk (44%) being 55+, a rare feat.

The title refers to the ancient tradition that sees Cardinals from across the globe gather sequestered behind Vatican walls to elect a new Pope when the previous Eminence expires. Action is set between rounds of voting.

The demos recall Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers starring Paul Giamatti (as a cranky prep school Classics professor), Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Dominic Sessa — although it’s hard to compare because Focus gave that a platform release starting in late October. The film had multiple Oscar nominations and Randoph won Best Supporting Actress. The film grossed $20+ million domestic ($45 million worldwide).

Focus achieved a feat post-Covid with older-skewing Leslie Manville-starring Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris, released in July of 2022, which saw $10+ million U.S. and $21 million worldwide.

The 35+ and certainly 55+ audiences have been the hardest to lure back post Covid. Hollywood strikes in 2023 meant fewer films in theaters.

“I feel like the only way that you’re going to get an older audience back into the movies is to give them a steady stream of films that get them interested in going back to the movies again,” said Focus distribution chief Lisa Bunnell.

“So, when we do our slate, one of the things that we think about is how can we be diverse and have films that appeal to all different age groups and all different demos. Because, to us, that’s the most important thing, that we get everybody back to the movies.”

The hope is that like The Holdovers did, younger audiences will ultimately be drawn to Conclave as well given the star power and the entertainment factor. “While, initially, we’re really getting those older folks back into theaters again, I think that eventually, what happens, especially with all of the awards talk for the movie, is that we’ll be able to bring in younger audiences as well.” [CONT'D]

Read full article on Deadline.