Twisters
The tornado left a lot on the table
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$216–288MM V $268MM
Mythosis universal quests used
3
Audience appeal
5.70 – 6.97%
Hidden potential
$570–630MM
Twisters directed by Lee Isaac Chung is supposedly a sequel to the 1996 movie. The movie follows brave storm chasers risking their lives to prevent nature’s destruction. Joseph Kosinski’s story explores basic human desires of honour, companionship & accumulation. Mythosis uses 3 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.
1. The invisible plot structure of Twisters
1A. The script of Twisters borrows 94% of its events from 3 mythological tales
Kate’s quest is driven by the desire to serve one’s clan or order and mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Kate fearlessly challenge and overcome destructive forces.
Tyler’s quest is driven by the desire for companionship and mirrors the tale of Psyche from Greek mythology. Both Psyche & Tyler recognize the goodness of their adversary and fall in love.
Javi’s quest is driven by the desire to collect & own and mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Javi repent being self-centred & transform.
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
# 8,577
Tales interweaved
Hanuman, Psyche & Valmiki
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 Twisters' plot structure: $216-288MM
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 Twisters
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Twisters uses 3 universal quests of Honour, Social contact and Accumulation.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Kate mirrors the quest of Honour. Tyler mirrors the universal quest of Social contact whereas the Javi mirror the universal quest of Accumulation.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Kate borrows 36% of events from the quest for Honour. Tyler borrows 20% from the universal quest of Social contact. Javi borrows 10% from the universal quest of Accumulation.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. The quest interweaving score of Twisters is 0.67 and is above par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Kate & Tyler:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Twisters
The characters of Twisters uniquely mirror 3 different mythological tales as well as their quests are well interwoven.
However, except for Kate none of the other characters i.e. Tyler and Javi have deep quests.
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
0.20
Audience appeal
5.70 – 6.97%
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 Twisters
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: Kate mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Kate’s desire for Honour stems from the need to serve a clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 2: Tyler mirrors the universal quest for Social contact
Tyler’s desire for Social contact stems from the need for companionship. The tale of Psyche from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Social contact.
Quest 3: Javi mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Javi’s desire for Accumulation stems from the need to collect & own. The tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology has a robust expression in Dicken’s character of Scrooge which is the universal quest for Accumulation.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The plot structure of Twister is a subset of the Mythosis plot structure #8,577. It is a blockbuster plot structure. that interweaves 3 universal quests of Honour, Accumulation & Social Contact.
However, the current plot structure of Twisters borrows only a part of the ideal plot structure. It relies on the single quest of Kate while leaving the quests of both Tyler & Javi shallow.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The potential of the script is unlocked by deepening the quests of Tyler & Javi. Borrowing missing events from the tales of Psyche & Valmiki makes their quests compelling.
It enhances the current revenues to approximately $600MM in the domestic market.
Explore Mythosis Plot structure # 8,577 that enhances current revenues by ~2.5X!
Tags: Valmiki, Psyche, Hanuman, Accumulation, Social contact Honour, Lee Isaac Chung, Mark L. Smith, Joseph Kosinski, Universal Pictures, 2024