The Two Popes

This article is about the biographical film. For the illegitimate popes in history, see Antipope.

The Two Popes
Official release poster
Directed byFernando Meirelles
Screenplay byAnthony McCarten
Based onThe Pope
by Anthony McCarten
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyCésar Charlone
Edited byFernando Stutz
Music byBryce Dessner
Production
company
Distributed byNetflix
Release dates
  • August 31, 2019 (2019-08-31) (Telluride)
  • November 27, 2019 (2019-11-27) (United States)
  • November 29, 2019 (2019-11-29) (United Kingdom)
Running time
125 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • Italy
  • Argentina
Languages
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Italian
Budget$40 million[1]
Box office$758,711[2][3]

The Two Popes is a 2019 biographical drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles and written by Anthony McCarten, adapted from McCarten's play The Pope which premiered at Royal & Derngate Theatre in 2019.[4][5] Predominantly set in Vatican City in the aftermath of the Vatican leaks scandal, the film follows Pope Benedict XVI, played by Anthony Hopkins, as he attempts to convince Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, played by Jonathan Pryce, to reconsider his decision to resign as an archbishop as he confides his own intentions to abdicate the papacy.[6]

The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2019. It began a limited theatrical release in the United States on November 27, 2019, and in the United Kingdom on November 29, and started digital streaming on December 20, by Netflix. The performances of Pryce and Hopkins, as well as McCarten's screenplay, received high praise from critics, and all three received nominations for their work at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes and British Academy Film Awards.

  1. ^ "'It's a very questionable institution': Two Popes director on the Church". Sydney Morning Herald. December 6, 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference IndieWireBO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "The Two Popes". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  4. ^ Billington, Michael (June 13, 2019). "The Pope review – Anton Lesser and Nicholas Woodeson's papal powerplay". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  5. ^ "Netflix confirms cast and production team on 'The Pope'". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  6. ^ Kay, Jeremy. "Netflix confirms Argentine cast and production team on 'The Pope'". Screen Daily. Retrieved October 7, 2019.