The Hangover
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$210 – 257MM V $277MM
Mythosis universal quests used
3
Audience appeal
9.36 – 11.44%
Script Score
0.32
The Hangover is a 2009 movie directed by Todd Phillips. The story follows a group of friends searching for their lost pal in Las Vegas after a night of partying during his bachelor party.
1. The invisible plot structure of The Hangover
1A. The script of The Hangover borrows 96% of its events from 3 mythological tales
Doug’s quest is driven by the desire to explore. The quest borrows events from the tale of Innana in Sumerian mythology. Both Innana and Doug pay the price for their imprudence of venturing into unknown territory.
Phil’s quest is driven by the desire to protect. The quest borrows events from the tale of Oedipus in Greek mythology. Both Oedipus & Phil fail to protect due to an error in judgement.
Chow’s under developed quest driven by vengeance borrows events from the tale of Duryodhan in Hindu mythology. Both Duryodhan & Chow stakes claim and punishes others.
Stu 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
# 4,928
Tales interweaved
Innana, Oedipus & 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 The Hangover's plot structure: $210 – 257MM
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 Hangover
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. The Hangover has 3 universal quests of Family, Curiosity & Vengeance.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Phil mirrors the universal quest of Family. Doug mirrors the quest of Curiosity & Chow mirrors the quest of Vengeance.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Phil borrows 41% events from the quest for Family. Doug borrows 28% events from the quest for Curiosity. Chow borrows 18% events from the quest for Vengeance.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. The Hangover’s quest interweaving score is 0.67 and is above par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Phil & Doug:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of The Hangover
The 2nd quest in the plot structure lacks depth and the 3rd quest is shallow.
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
0.32
Audience appeal
9.36 – 11.44%
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 Hangover
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: Phil mirrors the universal quest for Family
Phil’s desire for Family stems from the need to nurture & protect. The tale of Oedipus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Family.
Quest 2: Doug mirrors the universal quest for Curiosity
Doug’s desire for Curiosity stems from the need to explore. The tale of Innana from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Curiosity.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The plot structure suffers due to the weakness of the 2nd quest and a non-existent 3rd quest.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of The Hangover is a subset of Mythosis plot structure # 4,928. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Innana, Oedipus & Valmiki.
Contact us for Mythosis plot structure # 4,928.
Tags: Oedipus, Duryodhan, Innana, Family, Vengeance, Curiosity, Todd Phillips, Legendary Pictures, BenderSpink, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2009