The script potential score of The Great Wall is 0.05 (predicted revenue 43-48MM; actual 45MM)
The script of The Great Wall will appeal to 1.54 – 1.71% of the population
84% events in The Great Wall are borrowed from 4 mythological tales
The script of The Great Wall will appeal to 1.54 – 1.71% of the population
Any story is the quest to fulfil a human desire. We have identified universal quests for every human desire. These universal quests reveal the invisible plot structure of stories. An analysis of Blockbuster, Hit & Flop plots led to the discovery of Mythosis Code. The Code reveals the story principles shared by all Blockbusters. We use the Code to estimate and unlock a story’s Blockbuster potential.
All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. The Great Wall has 4 universal quests of Accumulation, Order, Power & Honour.
In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Will mirrors the quest of Honour. Lin mirrors the quest of Order whereas Taotie mirrors the universal quest of Power. Pero mirrors the quest of Accumulation.
Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Lin borrows 15% of the universal quest of Order. Will’s character borrows 25% of the fulfilled quest of Honour. Taotie’s character borrows 19% of the universal quest of Power. Pero borrows 9% of the unfulfilled quest of Accumulation.
Blockbusters interweave different quests to create a tight plot structure. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. The Great Wall’s quest interweaving score is 0.5 and at par. An example of interweaving of Lin’s & Taotie’s quests:
Blockbusters have a script score of at least 0.64 whereas The Great Wall’s script score is 0.05. Based on the script score we estimate that the movie The Great Wall appeal to 1.54 – 1.71% of the population.
Though the plot structure of The Great Wall borrows from 4 universal quests, the plot is weak due to all 4 characters being under-developed. The number of events that each character borrows from their universal quest is below the threshold.
84% events in The Great Wall are borrowed from 4 mythological tales
At Mythosis, we have identified 32 mythological tales. Each mythological tale uniquely represents a human quest to fulfil a desire. These tales are the super set of thousands of tales across cultures.
We have codified the events of each mythological tale. Every tale has 5 major arcs. Each arc has a sequence of events. These events culminate into a major event. Here is the mapping of each character’s quest to the major events in their respective mythological tale.
Quest 1: Will mirrors 25% of Hanuman’s quest for Honour (fulfils threshold of 35%)
Will’s desire for Honour stems from the need to be loyal to a clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 2: Lin mirrors 15% of Ram’s quest for Order (below threshold of 35%)
Quest 4: Pero mirrors 9% of Valmiki’s quest for Accumulation (below threshold of 35%)
Pero’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.
Tags:2016, Accumulation, Atlas Entertainment, Box office, Chang Cheng, Character development, China Film Group, Hanuman, Honour, Legendary Pictures, Movie Review, Mythology, Order, Power, Ram, Ravan, Script, Story plot, Universal Pictures, Valmiki
