Revving up Bad Boys' plot structure to double its box-office revenues
Estimated box office revenue: $111 – 155MM
92% of events in the script are borrowed from 4 mythological tales
In Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Mike and Marcus restore the honour of their late boss who is posthumously framed for being involved with the cartels. The story explores basic human desires of Honour, Idealism, Power, and Preservation. Mythosis uses 4 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.
1. Mythological tales reveal the invisible Plot Structure of Bad Boys
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.
92% of the events are borrowed from 4 mythological tales
Mike's quest is driven by the desire to be loyal to a clan/order and mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Mike locate the person responsible for their clans’ humiliation.
McGrath’s quest is driven by the desire to survive a threat and mirrors the tale of Kans from Hindu mythology. Both Kans & McGrath attempt to finish off their nemesis.
Lockwood’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the tale of Circe from Greek mythology, Both Circe & Lockwood project a façade of godliness.
Armando’s quest is driven by the desire for justice and mirrors the tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology. Both Prometheus & Armando redeem themselves for betraying their loved ones.
Marcus has an underdeveloped quest. His quest mirrors a few events from Innana’s tale in Sumerian mythology. Both Innana & Marcus are punished for their imprudence and have to be saved.
Rita, Judy, Christine, Kelly & Dorn have no quests.
Detailed mirroring of each character to their respective mythological tales is in section “4A. Extraction of each character quest"
2. 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.
2A. Mythosis Code evaluation of Bad Boys’ Plot structure
Bad Boys’ plot structure borrows from four mythological tales.
Bad Boys uses 4 universal quests of Honour, Power, Idealism and Preservation.
McGrath mirrors the universal quest of Preservation whereas Mike mirrors the quest of Honour. Lockwood mirrors the quest of Power & Armando mirrors the quest of Idealism.
McGrath borrows 38% of the quest for Preservation. Mike borrows 30% of the quest for Honour and is marginally below threshold. Armando borrows 20% of the quest for Idealism whereas Lockwood borrows just 10% of the quest for Power.
Blockbusters interweave different quests to create a tight plot structure. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Bad Boys’ quest interweaving score of 0.30 is below par. An example of interweaving the quests of Mike & Lockwood:
3.Estimated potential of Bad Boys’ 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 benefits of multiple quests, the quests must have sufficient depth and they should be interwoven.
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.
Bad Boys’ script borrows from 4 mythological tales. Each tale is uniquely mirrored by a single character. However, the interweaving is far below the benchmark resulting in a disjointed plot structure. Moreover, there are only 2 powerful characters in the script.
Bad Boys’ script potential score is 0.10 and the movie will appeal to 2.81 – 3.43% of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $111 – 155MM in the domestic market.
4.Unlocking the Ideal Plot Structure of Bad Boys
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.
4A. Extraction of each character quest
Quest 1: Mike mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Mike’s desire for Honour stems from the need to be loyal to a clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 2: McGrath mirrors the universal quest for Preservation
McGrath’s desire for Preservation stems from the need to survive a threat. The tale of Kans from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Preservation.
Quest 3: Lockwood mirrors the universal quest for Power
Lockwood’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Circe from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Power.
Quest 4: Armando mirrors the universal quest for Idealism
Armando’s desire for Idealism stems from the need for fairness & justice. The tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Idealism.
4B. Ideal Plot structure reconstruction
The major gap in current plot structure is its dependency on two quests. Additionally, only Mike’s quest is interwoven with the quests of McGrath, Armando and Lockwood. The quests of McGrath, Armando & Lockwood aren’t interwoven.
Just 2 interventions arising from the ideal plot structure enhances the domestic revenues to $360MM. Borrowing missing events from the tales of Hanuman & Prometheus: Besides making the quests of Mike and Armando compelling, these events help in interweaving the quests of Armando & McGrath resulting in a cohesive plot structure.
Tags:2024, Adil & Bilall, Chris Bremner, Circe, Hanuman, Honour, Idealism, Kans, Power, Prediction, Preservation, Prometheus, Sony Pictures Releasing, Will Beall
