Challengers’ plot potential is $31 – 50MM (actual $50MM)
Current plot structure will appeal to 0.86 – 1.06% of the population
3 mythological tales enhance the script’s potential by 12x
Challengers follows the lives of three tennis players as they navigate their careers. Unlike the trailers, the film is about Acceptance, Status and Ambition. At Mythosis, we extracted the plot structure of Challengers to find the gaps in the story and unlock its hidden potential.
Mythological tales reveal the invisible Plot Structure of Challengers
Stories are an interweaving of quests, each representing a fundamental human desire. These desires echo across time and cultures, finding their universal counterparts in mythological tales.
91% of the events in the story is borrowed from three mythological tales. There are 3 prominent characters whose quests mirror these mythological tales.
Tashi’s quest mirrors the tale of Kaikeyi from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire for social standing & respect. Kaikeyi retains her position in the kingdom by forcing her husband to exile his son. Tashi threatens to leave Art when he decides to quit the game.
Art’s quest mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by repentance for their actions. Valmiki gives up robbery to become a sage. Art’s journey captures a part of the universal quest – severs ties with his childhood friend
Patrick’s quest mirrors the tale of Karn from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire for approval by others. Karn is abandoned by loved ones and seeks acceptance in life. Patrick seeks acceptance from Tashi & Art after being cut out by them.
Detailed mirroring of each character to their respective mythological tales is in section “Unlocking the Ideal Plot Structure”
Blockbusters differ from Flops in the way they borrow from mythological tales
Blockbuster stories consistently defy the norms of conventional plot structures. The analysis of Blockbuster, Hit & Flop plot structures across decades and genres has uncovered an optimal method for incorporating mythological tales into storytelling. The Mythosis Code for creating blockbuster plot structures has the following principles -
Every blockbuster plot structure borrows events from at least three mythological tales.
Blockbuster characters are consistent and complex. Each character in the story reflects events from a single mythological tale, and the degree of mirroring is approximately 35%.
Blockbusters create a cohesive plot structure by intricately weaving the multiple tales. Characters are woven with each other through their quests and not merely by relationships. Quests become interconnected when events from two mythological tales occur simultaneously within the story.
Mythosis Code evaluation of Challengers’ Plot structure
Challengers’ plot structure borrows from three mythological tales.
Tashi, Art & Patrick mirror a single tale which make their quests consistent.
Tashi, Art & Patrick borrow below the threshold of 35%. Tashi borrows 18% of the events from Kaikeyi’s quest. Art borrows 10% of the events from Valmiki’s quest. Patrick borrows 7% of the events from Karn’s quest.
Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.50. Art’s quest is interwoven with both Tashi & Patrick. Tashi’s quest isn’t interwoven with Patrick. Challengers’ quest interweaving score of 0.67 is above par. Here is an example of interweaving the quests of Tashi & Art:
Estimated potential of Challengers’ Plot Structure
Each one of us is driven by at least one desire, which is why specific mythological tales resonate with us. When a story interweaves more tales, it broadens the story’s appeal to a wider audience. However, to realize the power of multiple quests, the quests must have sufficient depth and they should be interwoven.
The plot structure draws upon a single mythological tale i.e. Kaikeyi. Since all quests are shallow, the characters mirroring them lack complexity and are unidimensional. The shallowness of quests also impacts the interweaving between quests resulting in a disjointed sequence of events.
We have created an algorithm by assigning weights to the principles of The Mythosis Code. The algorithm calculates the potency of a story’s plot structure and estimates its corresponding audience appeal. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Challengers’ plot structure has a score of 0.03. Challengers will appeal to 0.86 – 1.06% of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $31 – 50MM in the domestic market. The movie grossed $50MM.
Unlocking the Ideal Plot Structure of Challengers
We have identified 32 universal quests that represent every human desire. These quests are the superset of thousands of stories across cultures that reflect our collective subconscious. Each quest has a structured sequence of events divided into 5 major arcs.
We map a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale (universal quest) which reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. The ideal Plot Structure is constructed by plugging these gaps with the missing events from the tale. These events strengthen each character’s journey and weaving of quests without altering the story.
Extraction of each character quest
Quest 1: Tashi mirrors the universal quest for Status
Tashi’s desire for Status stems from the need for social standing & respect. The tale of Kaikeyi from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Status.
Quest 2: Art mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Art’s desire for Accumulation stems from the need to own & collect. The tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology has a robust expression in Dicken’s character of Scrooge which is the universal quest for Accumulation. for Tranquillity.
Quest 3: Patrick mirrors the universal quest for Acceptance
Patrick’s desire for Acceptance stems from the need for approval by others. The tale of Karn from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Acceptance.
Ideal Plot structure reconstruction
The ideal plot structure deepens the quests of Tashi, Art and Patrick by borrowing missing events from the tales of Kaikeyi, Scrooge & Karn. It also amends the moral compass of Patrick as illustrated in the previous section. The ideal plot structure unlocks the hidden potential of Challengers and increases revenue by 12x.
The usage of missing events can be explored in other movies with similar quests. A few examples from past movies where characters have mirrored the quests used in the script of Challengers.
• Universal quest of Acceptance: Carol in American Graffiti & Laurie in Little Women (2019)
• Universal quest of Accumulation: Jenny in Forrest Gump
• Universal quest of Status: Eleanor in Crazy Rich Asians
Tags:2024, Acceptance, Accumulation, Amazon MGM Studios, Character Arcs, Justin Kuritzkes, Kaikeyi, Karn, Luca Guadagnino, Mythology, Screenwriting, Status, Story plot, storytelling, Valmiki, Warner Bros. Pictures
