
Cloud Atlas
Fabulous High Concept, Shallow Character Arcs
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$21 – 26MM V $27MM
Mythosis universal quests used
7
Audience appeal
0.84% – 1.02%
Script Score
0.03
Cloud Atlas a 2012 movie directed by Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, and Lilly Wachowski is based on the novel by David Mitchel. The movie weaves together six stories from different time periods to explore the impact of actions of individuals on one another. Mythosis, harnesses mythological tales to extract the unique plot structure of Cloud Atlas. The plot structure exposes the gaps of the ambitious story.

1. The invisible plot structure of Cloud Atlas
1A. The script of Cloud Atlas borrows 98% of its events from 7 mythological tales
Rey’s quest is driven by the desire to find an elusive object and mirrors the tale of Jason from Greek mythology. Similar to Jason’s quest, Luisa Rey & Meronym receive assistance from various allies, but ultimately triumph due to crucial insider support.
Ewing’s quest is driven by the desire for justice and mirrors the tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology. Similar to Prometheus’ quest, Adam Ewing & Hae-Joo Im switch sides to protect the exploited.
Zachry’s quest is driven by the desire to collect & own and mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology. Similar to Valmiki’s quest, Dr Goose, Sach & Zachary forge new relationships when they shift their focus away from themselves.
Robert Frobisher has an under-developed quest of Independence that is restricted to just one of the six stories.
Sonmi-451 has an under-developed quest of Acceptance that is restricted to just one of the six stories.
Timothy Cavendish has an under-developed quest of Power despite also appearing as Vyvyan Ayrs.
Lloyd Hooks has an under-developed quest of Vengeance despite appearing as Denholme Cavendish, Seer Rhee & Kona chief.
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
# 5,889,251,734
Tales interweaved
Prometheus, Valmiki, Daedalus, Ravan, Duryodhan, Jason & Karn
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 Cloud Atlas' plot structure: $21-26MM
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 Cloud Atlas
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Cloud Atlas uses 7 universal quests of Power, Acceptance, Independence, Vengeance, Expedition, Idealism and Accumulation
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Rey, Ewing, Zachry, Frobisher, Cavendish, Sonmi & Hooks mirror their respective universal quests across their avatars.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Rey borrows 28% of events from the quest of Expedition. Ewing borrows 24% from the quest of Idealism. Zachry borrows 24% from the quest of Accumulation. The other 4 characters have underdeveloped quests.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Cloud Atlas’ quest interweaving score of 0.14 and is below par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Rey & Zachry:

2B. Box office revenue estimation of Cloud Atlas
Cloud Atlas’ plot structure is ambitious since it attempts to interweave 7 universal quests.
- However, the plot structure reveals negligible growth of 4 characters across 6 stories.
- Even the 3 characters that witness some growth have insufficient depth.
- Lastly, the interweaving between character quests is extremely weak.
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
0.03
Audience appeal
0.84% – 1.02%
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 Cloud Atlas
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: Rey mirrors the universal quest for Expedition
Rey’s desire for Expedition stems from the need to find an elusive person/object. The tale of Jason from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Expedition.

Quest 2: Ewing mirrors the universal quest for Idealism
Ewing’s desire for Idealism stems from the need for fairness & justice. The tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Idealism.

Quest 3: Zachry mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Zachry’s desire for Accumulation stems from the need to collect & own. The tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology has a robust expression in Dicken’s character of Scrooge which is the universal quest for Accumulation.

3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
Cloud Atlas doesn’t interweave the various character quests, so the plot seems a disjointed set of several stories.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of Cloud Atlas is a subset of plot structure # 5,889,251,734 that interweaves the tales of Prometheus, Valmiki, Daedalus, Ravan, Duryodhan, Jason & Karn
CONTACT: anandshiv@usemythosis.com for Cloud Atlas’ plot structure #9,293
Tags: Prometheus, Jason, Valmiki, Idealism, Accumulation, Expedition, Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, Lilly Wachowski, David Mitchell, X Filme Creative Pool, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2012