Kingdom of the Planet of Apes’ plot potential is $136 - 181MM (actual $171MM)
Est vs actual domestic box office revenue: $136–181/$171MM
Strengthening the quests of Proximus & Mae enhances revenues by 3.5X
Kingdom of the Planet of Apes is set in a post-apocalyptic world and traces Noa's journey to bring back his abducted clan. It is the fourth installment of the franchise and a standalone film. At Mythosis, we have found the gaps in the story from its plot structure. We also created a plot structure to unlock the blockbuster potential of the film. The film has a unique plot structure, never before seen in either movies or books.
Mythological tales reveal the invisible Plot Structure of Kingdom of the Planet of Apes
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
87% of the events in the story is borrowed from three mythological tales. There are 3 prominent characters whose quests mirror these tales.
Noa’s quest mirrors the tale of Jason from Greek mythology, where both are driven by the desire to find a person or object. Jason embarks on a journey to retrieve The Golden Fleece. Noa sets outs to find and bring back his clan.
Mae’s quest mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire to collect and own. Valmiki keeps his profession under wraps. Mae doesn’t reveal her motive to either Raka or Noa.
Proximus’ quest mirrors the tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire to dominate others. Ravan unscrupulously acquires and forcefully abducts at will. Proximus and his masked apes abduct other clans to strengthen his kingdom.
Sylva & Raka have underdeveloped quest of Vengeance and Honour.
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 Kingdom of the Planet of Apes’ Plot structure
Kingdom of the Planet of Apes’ plot structure borrows from three mythological tales.
Noa, Mae & Proximus mirror a single tale which make their quests consistent.
Noa, Mae & Proximus borrow below the threshold of 35%. Noa borrows 31% of the events from Jason’s quest. Mae borrows 20% of the events from Valmiki’s quest. Proximus borrows 9% of the events from Ravan’s quest.
Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.50. Proximus’ quest is interwoven with both Noa & Mae. Noa’s quest isn’t interwoven with Mae. Kingdom of the Planet of Apes’ quest interweaving score of 0.67 is above par. Here is an example of interweaving the quests of Noa & Proximus:
Estimated potential of Kingdom of the Planet of Apes’ 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 potency of multiple quests, the quests must have sufficient depth and they should be interwoven.
Kingdom of the Planet of Apes has a unique plot structure that hasn't been ever used in movies or books. However, it relies on a single quest, of Noa. The character quests of Mae & Proximus are shallow, hence both the characters lack complexity and are unidimensional. Even though Noa's mirroring of Jason's quest is marginally below threshold, leaving out important events has led to a disjointed plot structure.
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.
Kingdom of the Planet of Apes’ plot structure has a score of 0.12. Kingdom of the Planet of Apes will appeal to 3.49 – 4.26% of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $136 – 181MM in the domestic market.
Unlocking the Ideal Plot Structure of Kingdom of the Planet of Apes
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: Noa mirrors the universal quest for Expedition
Noa’s desire for Expedition stems from the need to find an elusive person or object. The tale of Jason from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Expedition.
Quest 2: Mae mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Mae’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.
Quest 3: Proximus mirrors the universal quest for Power
Proximus’ desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Power.
Ideal Plot structure reconstruction
The script potential of the film changes marginally by amending the events from the universal quest of Expedition.
The ideal plot structure borrows from arcs 3 & 4 for Proximus and from arc 2 for Mae. However, borrowing events from the above-mentioned arcs alters the story. The altered story will enhance the revenues of the film by 3.5X!
32 mythological tales are the source of all stories, even the untold ones.
Tags:2024, 20th Century Studios, Accumulation, Character Arcs, Expedition, Jason, Josh Friedman, Mythology, Power, Ravan, Screenwriting, Story plot, storytelling, Valmiki, Wes Ball
