Last Night in Soho squanders a brilliant High Concept
Est vs Actual domestic box office revenue: $8 – 11MM vs $10MM
96% of the events are borrowed from 6 mythological tales
Last Night in Soho directed by Edgar Wright is known for its compelling concept and haunting soundtrack. The movie follows a girl who gets transported to the 1960s whenever she sleeps. She leverages her experiences in the current day until she gets murdered in the past. The story explores the basic human desires of Family, Honour and Power. Mythosis, harnesses mythological tales to extract the unique plot structure of Last Night in Soho. The plot structure uncovers what makes the story engaging and also exposes the gaps.
1. Mythological tales reveal the invisible plot structure of Last Night in Soho
1A. 96% of the events are borrowed from 6 mythological tales
Ellie’s quest is driven by the desire for protecting loved ones and mirrors the tale of Demeter from Greek mythology. Both Demeter & Ellie try to find their lost loved one.
Ellie has another quest of independence that is underdeveloped.
Sandie’s quest is driven by the desire for honour and mirrors the tale of Amba from Hindu mythology. Both Amba & Sandie embark on avenging themselves after being betrayed and dishonoured by their loved ones.
Sandie has another quest of remorse which is underdeveloped.
Jack's quest is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the tale of Circe from Greek mythology. Both Circe and Jack lure unsuspecting victims and take control of their lives.
John has an underdeveloped quest of romance.
Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest 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 plot of Last Night in Soho is a subset of plot structure #7,123 that interweaves the tales of Demeter, Circe & Amba.
2. Plot structure potential of Last Night in Soho: $8-11MM
2A. Plot structure evaluation
An analysis of Blockbuster, Hit & Flop plots has led to the discovery of Mythosis Code. The Code has a 91% accuracy in predicting the box office revenues of movies. It reveals 4 principles for creating compelling stories. We use the Code to estimate a story’s potential.
All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Last Night in Soho uses 3 universal quests of Family, Power and Honour. It also borrows events from the quests of Independence, Accumulation & Romance.
In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Ellie mirrors the universal quests of Family and Independence. Sandie mirrors the universal quest of Honour and Accumulation. Jack mirrors the universal quests of Power.
Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Ellie borrows 13% of events from the quest of Family and 6% from the quest of Independence. Jack borrows 20% of the events from the quest of Power. Sandie borrows 14% from the quest of Honour and 5% from the quest of Accumulation.
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 Last Night in Soho is 0.33 and is below par. An example of interweaving the quests of Sandie & Jack:
2B. Estimating revenue potential from the plot structure
The fabulous concept of Last Night in Soho is undone by inconsistent characters and their shallow quests. The plot structure reflects the lead characters of Ellie and Sandie pursuing multiple desires. Multiple desires of a character not only weaken their quest but also makes the plot disjointed.
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.
Last Night in Soho has a script potential score is 0.01 and the movie has negligible appeal. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $8–11MM in the domestic market. The movie’s actual revenue was $10MM.
3. The ideal plot structure of Last Night in Soho
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: Ellie mirrors the universal quest for Family
Ellie’s desire for Family stems from the need to protect loved ones. The tale of Demeter from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Family.
Quest 2: Jack mirrors the universal quest for Power
Jack’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 3: Sandie mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Sandie’s desire stems from the need to restore her Honour. The tale of Amba from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
