The plot structure will appeal to 1.32 – 1.62% of the population
Revenue potential: $58 – 83MM in the domestic market
Ideal plot structure enhances revenues by 7X
IF is written and directed by John Krasinski. The movie is about a girl who sets out to reunite grown-ups with their forgotten imaginary friends. It misses a huge opportunity in exploring the role of an imaginary friend who reunites the girl with her dad. The movie's plot structure is extracted with three mythological tales to estimate its box-office revenues and unlock the hidden potential.
Mythological tales reveal the invisible Plot Structure of IF
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.
95% of the events in the story is borrowed from three mythological tales. There are 3 prominent characters in the movie.
Bea’s quest mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire to serve a clan or order. Hanuman devotes his life to help Ram find Sita. Bea helps IFs reunite with the kids who have forgotten them.
Blue’s quest mirrors the tale of Karn from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire for acceptance. Karn wants to be accepted as a warrior. Blue wants to be accepted as an imaginary friend. Blossom mirrors the same quest, with lesser events.
Every human desire has two quests - a fulfilled one and also an unfulfilled one. IF uses both quests for the desire of acceptance. Blue mirrors part of the unfulfilled quest whereas Cal mirrors the fulfilled quest.
Cal’s quest mirrors the tale of Theseus in Greek mythology, where both are driven by the desire for acceptance. King Aegeus fails to recognize his son, Theseus. Despite Cal telling Bea about IFs, she doesn’t look for her IF.
Bea’s dad has no quest.
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 IF’s Plot structure
IF’s plot structure borrows from three mythological tales.
Bea, Blue & Cal mirror a single tale which make their quests consistent.
Every quest is below threshold. Bea borrows 32% of the events from Hanuman’s quest. Blue borrows 16% of the events from Karn’s quest. Cal borrows 13% of the events from Theseus’ quest.
Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.50. The quests of Bea & Blue are interwoven but Cal's quest isn't interwoven with either Bea or Blue. IF’s quest interweaving score of 0.33 is below par. Here is an example of interweaving the quests of Bea & Blue:
Potential of IF’s 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 Acceptance of multiple quests, the quests must have sufficient depth and they should be interwoven.
In IF's plot structure, none of the quests have sufficient depth which also impacts the interweaving which is below par. As a result, the plot is a disjointed sequence of events and the characters lack complexity.
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.
IF’s plot structure has a score of 0.05. IF will appeal to 1.32% - 1.62% of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $58 – 83 MM in the domestic market.
The Ideal Plot Structure of IF
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: Bea mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Bea’s desire for Honour stems from the need to serve a clan or order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 2: Blue mirrors the universal unfulfilled quest for Acceptance
Blue’s desire for Acceptance stems from the need for approval from others. The tale of Karn from Hindu mythology is the universal unfulfilled quest for Acceptance.
Quest 3: Cal mirrors the universal fulfilled quest for Acceptance
Cal’s desire for Acceptance stems from the need for approval from others. The tale of Theseus from Greek mythology is the universal fulfilled quest for Acceptance.
Ideal Plot structure reconstruction
There are two reasons for gaps in the current plot structure. The most evident reason is Cal’s quest not being interwoven with any of the characters. Bea’s dad not having a quest is the other reason. The ideal plot structure redrafts the story with the character quests of Bea, Cal, Blue and assigns a quest to Bea’s dad. It interweaves the universal quests of Honour, Acceptance and Tranquillity.
Cal’s quest is the weakest and has the maximum possibility of being strengthened. Borrowing additional events not only strengthens the quest but also ensures interweaving with other quests.
Assigning a quest of Tranquillity for the broken-hearted Bea’s dad builds a compelling father daughter relationship. Moreover, it creates an opportunity for Cal to help Bea save her dad.
The ideal plot structure interweaves four tales with robust quests for Bea, Cal and Bea’s dad to enhance the revenue potential by 7x.
Tags:2024, Acceptance, Character Arcs, Hanuman, Honour, John Krasinski, Karn, Mythology, Paramount Pictures, Screenwriting, Story plot, storytelling, Theseus
