Could Despicable Me 4 be the best instalment of the franchise?
Estimated box office revenue: $218 – 291MM
Ideal Plot structure made with mythological tales enhance revenues by 2.5X
Despicable Me 4 is an animated movie from Universal & Illumination. Written by Mike White & Ken Daurio the movie is about Gru hiding in a safe house with his family to avoid Maxime. The movie explores basic human desires of order, expedition, power & independence. Mythosis uses 4 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.
1. Mythological tales reveal the invisible plot structure of any story
1A. 92% of the events are borrowed from 4 mythological tales
Gru's quest is driven by the desire to maintain social stability and mirrors the tale of Ram from Hindu mythology. Evil forces retaliate against both Ram & Gru by abducting their loved ones.
Gru's quest is also driven by the desire to find an elusive object/person and mirrors the tale of Jason from Greek mythology. Both Jason & Gru are forced to retrieve an object.
Maxime’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology. Both Ravan & Maxime use their power to acquire unscrupulously.
Mega Minions’ quest is driven by the desire for self-reliance and mirrors the tale of David from Abrahamic mythology. Both David & Mega Minions forced to retire but called back.
Lucy, Jr. & Poppy have underdeveloped quests.
Detailed mirroring of each character to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
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 unique plot structure of Despicable Me 4 is # 424,472. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Ram, Ravan, Jason & David.
2. Plot structure potential of Despicable Me 4: $218-291MM
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Despicable Me 4
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 questsDespicable Me 4 uses 4 universal quests of Order, Expedition, Power and Independence.
In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character.Gru mirrors the quest of Order as well as Expedition. Maxime mirrors the universal quest of Power whereas the Mega Minions mirror the universal quest of Independence.
Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Gru borrows 40% of events from the quest for Order & 19% of events from the quest of Expedition. Maxime borrows 33% from the universal quest of Power. Mega Minions borrow 24% from the universal quest of Independence.
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. The quest interweaving score of Despicable Me 4 is 0.67 and is above par. An example of interweaving the quests of Gru & Maxime:
2B. Plot structure is the most important but least understood element of storytelling
Any plot structure that borrows events from at least 3 mythological tales has high resonance. In our own lives, each one of us identifies with at least one quest to fulfil a basic human desire. The more quests woven into a story, the wider its appeal.
The nature of mythological tales used, makes the plot structure fresh & unique.Besides, appealing to a larger audience size the interweaving of various human desires creates a unique and original story.
Interweaving mythological tales makes the plot structure cohesive. Stories become seamless when characters are woven with each other through their quests and not merely by relationships.
Characters are consistent when they mirror a single mythological tale. Characters pursuing more than one quest appear confusing due to their divergent desires.
Borrowing 35% or more events from each mythological tale strengthens both the plot structure & character. The plot structure becomes flat when characters borrow less than the threshold. Each mythological tale has multiple twists & turns hence no forced injection is required. Characters become layered & complex when their journey is deep.
2C. Measuring the revenue potential of Despicable Me 4
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.
Despicable Me 4 has a script potential score is 0.20 and the movie will appeal to 5.71 – 6.98% of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $218 – 291MM in the domestic market.
3. The ideal plot structure of Despicable Me 4
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: Gru mirrors the universal quest for Order
Gru’s desire for Order stems from the need for organization & stability. The tale of Ram from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Order.
Quest 2: Gru also mirrors the universal quest for Expedition
Gru’s desire for Expedition stems from the need to find an elusive object/person. The tale of Jason from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Expedition.
Quest 3: Maxime mirrors the universal quest for Power
Maxime’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Power.
Quest 4: Mega Minions mirrors the universal quest for Independence
Mega Minions’ desire for Independence stems from the need for self-reliance and autonomy. The tale of David from Abrahamic mythology is the universal quest for Independence.
3B. Gaps in the current plot structure
Mythosis has identified 2 gaps that inhibit the script’s potential. A. Gru’s quest is inconsistent since it is driven by two desires B. Only one quest has sufficient depth.
3C. Unlocking the hidden potential
The potential of the script is unlocked by
- Dropping Gru’s quest of Expedition (since it has lower depth) & Focusing on the singular quest of Order.
- Enhancing the depth of quests for Gru, Maxime & Mega Minions by borrowing events from the missing arcs.
The ideal plot structure for Despicable Me 4 is # 14,614. It is a blockbuster plot structure that enhances the current revenues by ~2.5X!
Tags:2024, Blockbuster movies, Chris Renaud, David, Expedition, Illumination, Independence, Jason, Ken Daurio, Mike White, Mythology, Order, Plot Structure, Prediction, Ram, Ravan, storytelling, Universal Pictures, Vengeance
