The First Omen
A case of untapped opportunities
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$18 – 31MM V $20MM
Mythosis universal quests used
3
Audience appeal
~0.63%
Hidden potential
$340 – 390MM
The First Omen depicts the struggle of a devout Catholic woman against unscrupulous forces intent on bringing forth the Antichrist. The movie serves as a prequel to Omen, the 1976 film. The film fails to tap into multiple opportunities.
1. The invisible plot structure of The First Omen
1A. The script of The First Omen borrows 89% of its events from 3 mythological tales
Lawrence’s quest mirrors the tale of Circe from Greek mythology, where both are driven by the desire to dominate others. Circe creates a façade of godliness and uses her witchcraft to control. Cardinal Lawrence ensures atheists return to the Church by resorting to an unscrupulous plan.
Margaret’s quest mirrors the tale of Noah from Abrahamic mythology, where both are driven by the desire to survive a threat. Noah is tasked and helped by God to build an ark. Margaret learns about an impending threat from Father Brennan and is tasked with finding “Scianna”.
Margaret’s quest also mirrors the tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology, where both are driven by the desire for fairness & justice. Zeus’ trusted lieutenant, Prometheus rebels against him. Margaret rebels against her mentor, Cardinal Lawrence.
Father Brennan has an underdeveloped quest. He’s driven by the desire to find a hidden person or object.
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
# 18,436
Tales interweaved
Circe, Noah, Prometheus
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 The First Omen's plot structure: $18-31MM
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 The First Omen
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. The script primarily uses the 3 universal quests of Power, Preservation & Idealism.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Margaret mirrors the quest of Preservation & Idealism. Lawrence mirrors the universal quest of Power.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Lawrence borrows 36% of the events from Circe’s quest. Margaret borrows 39% of the events from Prometheus’ quest. She also borrows 24% of the events from Noah’s quest.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. In The First Omen none of the quests are interwoven.
2B. Box office revenue estimation of The First Omen
Even though The First Omen’s plot structure has 2 powerful quests, it is disjointed due to the quests not being interwoven.
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
0.02
Audience appeal
~0.63%
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 The First Omen
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: Lawrence mirrors the universal quest for Power
Lawrence’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 2: Margaret mirrors the universal quest for Preservation
Margaret’s desire for Preservation stems from the need to survive a threat. The tale of Noah from Abrahamic mythology is the universal quest for Preservation.
Quest 3: Margaret also mirrors the universal quest for Idealism
Margaret’s desire for Idealism stems from the need for fairness & justice. The tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Idealism.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The First Omen’s plot structure has 3 issues
- Inconsistent quest of Margaret. The plot structure of The First Omen erroneously borrows from the quest of Noah. Since Margaret fails to stop Damien’s birth, the attribution of Noah’s fulfilled quest to her is fallacious.
- The quests of Lawrence & Margaret isn’t interwoven
- Under-developed 3rd quest of Brennan
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
Mythosis plot structure # 18,111 would have made The First Omen much bigger than the original. It interweaves the tales of Circe, Prometheus & Gilgamesh. It has the potential to generate revenues of $340 – 390MM in the domestic market.
- The plot structure borrows additional events from the tales of Circe & Prometheus to deepen the quests of Margaret & Lawrence and also interweaves their quests.
- The plot structure assigns a quest to Father Brennan who has an underdeveloped quest. His quest is developed by borrowing events from the mythological tale of Gilgamesh, the universal unfulfilled quest for Expedition.
Contact us for Mythosis Plot Structure #18,111
Tags: Circe, Power, Noah, Preservation, Prometheus, Idealism, 2024, Tim Smith, Arkasha Stevenson, Keith Thomas, Phantom Four, 20th Century Studios