Est. vs Actual domestic box office revenue $33-41MM/ $44MM
Five mythological tales reveal the invisible plot structure
Directed by Tom McCarthy, the movie follows the investigative journalism team as they uncover a massive scandal covered-up by a revered institution – the Catholic Church. The story explores basic human quests of power and search for truth. Mythosis uses 5 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.
1. Mythological tales reveal the invisible plot structure of any story
1A. 89% of the events are borrowed from 5 mythological tales
Team Spotlight’s quest is driven by the desire to find an elusive person/object and mirrors the tale of Jason from Greek mythology. Similar to Jason’s quest, Team Spotlight receives assistance from various allies, but ultimately triumphs due to crucial insider support.
Catholic Church’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the tale of Circe from Greek mythology. Both Circe and Catholic Church take whatever they want without any concern for the consequences.
There are 3 underdeveloped quests
Robby’s quest is driven by the desire to protect and mirrors the tale of Oedipus from Greek mythology. Both Oedipus & Robby repent for an inadvertent mistake made in the past.
Marty’s quest is driven by the desire for justice and mirrors the tale of Krishn from Hindu mythology. Despite being warned both Krishn & Marty take on a powerful adversary.
Garabedian’s quest is driven by the desire to serve a clan/order and mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Garabedian are unsure initially but become fiercely loyal.
Detailed mirroring of each character to their respective mythological tales is in section “Unlocking the Ideal Plot Structure”
1B. 32 mythological tales are the source of all stories, even the untold ones
Human beings are driven by 16 fundamental desires. Every desire, whether encountering fulfilment or unfulfillment, gives rise to two distinct quests. Thus, a spectrum of 32 unique quests mirrors every human desire.
We have discovered mythological tales from across civilizations that uniquely portray each one of these 32 human quests. While each mythological tale stands as a distinct quest, the true magic unfolds when these tales are combined. This synergy is evident in the epics of Odyssey and Ramayan, where various universal quests seamlessly intertwine.
Combining any five tales from the 32, generates a staggering 24 million unique story plots. Take it a step further, by combining six tales the possibilities explode to an astounding 600 million!
The plot structure of Spotlight is # 607 that emerges from interweaving the universal quests of Power & Expedition.
2. Plot structure potential of Spotlight: $33-41MM
2A. Plot structure evaluation
An analysis of Blockbuster, Hit & Flop plots has led to the discovery of Mythosis Code. The Code reveals the story principles shared by all Blockbusters. We use the Code to estimate a story’s potential.
All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Spotlight uses 2 universal quests of Power & Expedition.
In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Catholic Church mirrors the universal quest of Power whereas Team Spotlight mirrors the quest of Expedition.
Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Team Spotlight borrows 34% events from the universal quest of Expedition. Catholic Church borrows 28% from the universal quest of 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. Spotlight has a quest interweaving score of 0.30 and is below par. An example of interweaving the quests of Team Spotlight & Catholic Church:
2B. Estimating revenue potential of plot structure
Though the plot structure of Spotlight borrows events from 5 mythological tales, it uses only 2 of them. As a result, the character quests are shallow.
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.
Spotlight’s script score is 0.04 and the movie will appeal to 1.24 – 1.51% of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $33 – 41MM in the domestic market. The movie’s actual revenue was $45MM.
3. The ideal plot structure of Spotlight
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 both the journey of characters as well as the weaving of quests without altering the story.
3A. Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Team Spotlight mirrors the universal quest for Expedition
Team Spotlight’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: Catholic Church mirrors the universal quest for Power
Catholic Church’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Circe from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Power.
