Nosferatu
A fractured tale of terror
ESTIMATED domestic box office revenue
$63 – 100MM
Mythosis universal quests used
4
Audience appeal
1.48% – 1.80%
Hidden potential
$660 – 720MM
Nosferatu, directed by Robert Eggers, is a remake of the 1922 silent movie. The story revolves around an unfortunate husband & wife and a professor of occult battling against an obsessed demonic power. The movie explores human desires of tranquillity, order, power and status. The plot structure exposes the disjointed storyline and shallow character quests.
1. The invisible plot structure of Nosferatu
1A. The script of Nosferatu borrows 93% of its events from 4 mythological tales
Ellen’s quest is driven by the desire to ensure order. The quest borrows events from the tale of Bhishm in Hindu mythology. Both Bhishm and Ellen unintentionally unleash chaos that can only be resolved through their sacrifice.
Orlok’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others. The quest borrows events from the tale of Ravan in Hindu mythology. Both Ravan and Orlok take whatever they want without any concern for the consequences.
Von Franz has an underdeveloped quest of Status. Much like Joseph deciphering the Pharaoh’s dream and rescuing Egypt from famine, Von Franz unravels the mystery of Ellen’s demonic affliction and discovers a way to defeat it.
Thomas has an underdeveloped quest of Tranquillity. Odysseus escapes multiple captivities to reach Ithaca and saves Penelope from suitors. Thomas escapes from Orlok’s castle but fails to save Ellen.
Friedrich & Anna, friends of Thomas and Ellen have no quest. Sievers and Knock also don’t have any quest. They are characters in the quests of Joseph & Ravan.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
#451,802
Tales interweaved
Ravan, Bhishm, Joseph & Odysseus
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. The potential of Nosferatu's plot structure: $63 – 100MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code, a set of principles for creating compelling stories. The plot structure of a story is analyzed to see how well it adheres to these storytelling principles.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Nosferatu
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Nosferatu uses 2 universal quests of Order & Power. The quests of Status & Tranquillity are sparingly used.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Ellen mirrors the universal quest of Order. Orlok mirrors the universal quest of Power.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Ellen borrows 24% from the quest of Order. Orlok borrows 21% from the quest of Power. Von Franz & Thomas borrow less than 10% from their respective quests.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Nosferatu’s quest interweaving score of 0.40 is below par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Ellen & Orlok:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Nosferatu
Even though the script of Nosferatu uses 4 universal quests, 2 quests are negligible and the other 2 quests are shallow. Important causal events from each of the quests is left out which makes the plot structure disjointed.
The Script Score measures a plot structure’s adherence to the four principles of Mythosis Code. We use the Script Score to estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.05
Audience appeal
1.48% - 1.80%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of Nosferatu
We have identified 32 mythological tales, the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have also recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours that are deeply embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
Mapping a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Plugging these gaps with the missing events deepens the character quest. The missing events also provide an opportunity for interweaving the various quests. These events strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential.
3A.Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Ellen mirrors the universal quest for Order
Ellen’s desire for Order stems from the need to maintain social stability. The tale of Bhishm from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Order.
Quest 2: Orlok mirrors the universal quest for Power
Orlok’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Power.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The plot structure suffers due to the shallow quests of Ellen, Orlok and Von Franz.
However, the major flaw with the plot structure is the choice of universal quest for Thomas.
- Odysseus’ quest does have escape from captivity, assistance from Aeolus to return home and then betrayal by his men who release the bag of winds.
- These events are a small part of Odysseus’ quest. As a result, Thomas’ quest lacks magnitude
- If more events are borrowed from Odysseus’ quest, then the basic story of Nosferatu changes.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
Nosferatu’s script is a subset of Mythosis Plot structure #451,802. The revenue potential of Nosferatu’s script is marginally enhanced by borrowing the missing events from this plot structure. The additional events deepen the quests of Ellen, Orlok, and Von Franz.
However, this plot structure doesn’t help in deepening the quest of Thomas. Mythosis has found another plot structure #451,192 that replaces Odysseus’ quest with Oedipus. The quest of Oedipus builds on the existing story while deepening Thomas’ quest. The resultant plot structure unlocks the hidden potential of Nosferatu’s script.
Enhance current revenues by ~9X! with Mythosis plot structure #451,192
Tags: Ravan, Power, Bhishm, Order, Robert Eggers, Focus Features, Universal Pictures, 2024