
Skyfall
Modern spy movie made from 3 mythological tales
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$229 – 280MM V $304MM
Mythosis universal quests used
4
Audience appeal
9.15% – 11.19%
Script Score
0.31
Directed by Sam Mendes, Skyfall explores the basic human desires of ensuring order, upholding honour and a raw display of power. Mythosis, harnesses 4 mythological tales to extract the unique plot structure of Skyfall. The plot structure reveals the reasons behind the compelling story and also exposes the gaps.

1. The invisible plot structure of Skyfall
1A. The script of Skyfall borrows 87% of its events from 4 mythological tales
Bond’s quest is driven by the desire to serve one’s clan and mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology. Hanuman & Bond demonstrate loyalty, showing a willingness to sacrifice themselves.
Bond also has a quest that mirrors some events from the tale of Odysseus. Both Odysseus & Bond overcome an adversary to save their loved ones.
M’s quest is driven by the desire to maintain stability and mirrors the tale of Bhishm from Hindu mythology. Both Bhishm & “M” take a vow to protect their kingdom from falling into chaos.
Silva’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the tale of Circe from Greek mythology. Both Circe & Silva create a façade to prey on unsuspecting victims.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
#15,523
Tales interweaved
Bhishm, Circe & Hanuman
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. The potential of Skyfall's plot structure: $229-280MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code, a set of principles for creating compelling stories. The plot structure of a story is analyzed to see how well it adheres to these storytelling principles.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Skyfall
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Skyfall uses 4 universal quests of Tranquillity, Honour, Order and Power
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Bond mirrors the universal quests of Honour & Tranquillity. “M” mirrors the quest of Order. Silva mirrors the universal quest of Power.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Bond borrows 40% of events from the quest of Honour & 8% of events from the quest of Tranquillity. “M” borrows 14% from the quest of Order. Silva borrows 40% from the quest of Power.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Skyfall has a perfect quest interweaving score of 1.
An example of interweaving the quests of Bond & Silva:

2B. Box office revenue estimation of Skyfall
The strength of Skyfall’s plot structure lies in deeply using 2 universal quests. The quests of Bond & Silva are extremely deep that makes them layered and complex.
The plot structure also reveals a major gap in the story due to the inconsistency in Bond’s character. The hidden potential is harnessing the universal quest of Order that would strengthen M’s quest.
The Script Score measures a plot structure’s adherence to the four principles of Mythosis Code. We use the Script Score to estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.31
Audience appeal
9.15% – 11.19%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of Skyfall
We have identified 32 mythological tales, the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have also recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours that are deeply embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
Mapping a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Plugging these gaps with the missing events deepens the character quest. The missing events also provide an opportunity for interweaving the various quests. These events strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential.
3A.Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Bond mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Bond’s desire for Honour stems from the need to serve one’s clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.

Quest 2: “M” mirrors the universal quest for Order
M’s desire for Order stems from the need to maintain stability. The tale of Bhishm from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Order.

Quest 3: Silva mirrors the universal quest for Power
Silva’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Circe from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Power.

3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The plot structure reveals a major gap in the story due to the inconsistency in Bond’s character.
Moreover, harnessing the universal quest of Order would strengthen M’s shallow quest.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of Skyfall is a subset of plot structure #15,523 that interweaves the tales of Bhishm, Circe & Hanuman.
CONTACT: anandshiv@usemythosis.com for Skyfall’s plot structure #15,523
Tags: Bhishm, Hanuman, Circe, Order, Power, Honour, Sam Mendes, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan, Eon Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Releasing, 2012