It Ends With Us
A refreshingly unique love triangle
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$172–239MM V $148MM
Mythosis universal quests used
3
Audience appeal
4.49 – 5.49%
Hidden potential
$636–704MM
It Ends with Us directed by Justin Baldoni is an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel. The story is about Lily being unwittingly drawn into a traumatic situation reminiscent of her childhood scars. Its plot explores basic human desires of tranquillity, loyalty & selfishness. Mythosis extracts the plot structure of the movie with 3 mythological tales to estimate and unlock its potential.
1. The invisible plot structure of It Ends With Us
1A. The script of It Ends With Us borrows 97% of its events from 3 mythological tales
Lily’s quest is driven by the desire to be in a peaceful environment and mirrors the tale of Sita from Hindu mythology. Both Sita and Lily have suffered from abuse and aggression, and they both yearn for peace and tranquillity.
Atlas’ quest is driven by the desire to restore honour of others and mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Atlas offer unconditional support to a person wronged.
Ryle’s quest is driven by the desire collect & own and mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki and Ryle exhibit self-centered behaviour, even to the point of sacrificing the well-being of their loved ones.
Alyssa doesn’t have a quest.
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
# 4,662
Tales interweaved
Valmiki, Hanuman & Sita
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 It Ends With Us plot structure: $172-239MM
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 It Ends With Us
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. It Ends with Us uses 3 universal quests of Tranquillity, Accumulation and Honour.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Lily mirrors the universal quest of Tranquillity. Atlas mirrors the universal quest of Honour. Ryle mirrors the universal quest of Accumulation.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Lily borrows 30% from the universal quest of Tranquillity. Atlas borrows 14% from the quest of Honour. Ryle borrows 18% 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 It Ends with Us is 0.67 and is above par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Lily & Atlas:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of It Ends With Us
The characters of It Ends With Us uniquely mirror 3 different mythological tales as well as their quests are well interwoven.
However, none of the characters 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
0.16
Audience appeal
4.49 – 5.49%
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 It Ends With Us
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: Lily mirrors the universal quest for Tranquillity
Lily’s desire for Tranquillity stems from the need to be in a peaceful environment. The tale of Sita from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Tranquillity.
Quest 2: Atlas mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Atlas’ desire for Honour stems from the need to restore the honour of one’s clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 3: Ryle mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Ryle’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 It Ends with Us is unique. The universal quests of Accumulation, Tranquillity & Honour has never been interwoven in the history of storytelling.
It Ends with Us’ plot structure # 4,662 has blockbuster potential since it combines three universal quests.
- The current plot structure can be transformed by increasing the depth of each character quest.
- All the 3 characters mirror far below the threshold from their respective universal quests.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
Deepening each character by borrowing missing events from their respective universal quests unlocks the hidden potential
It enhances the current revenues to approximately $700MM in the domestic market.
Explore Mythosis Plot structure # 4,662 that enhances current revenues by ~3.5X!
Tags: Hanuman, Sita, Valmiki, Honour, Tranquillity, Accumulation, Justin Baldoni, Christy Hall, Colleen Hoover, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Releasing, 2024