Abigail
Great set-up, Confused ending
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$25 – 42MM V $26MM
Mythosis universal quests used
5
Audience appeal
0.68 – 0.84%
Hidden potential
$360 – 400MM
A group of hardened criminals kidnaps a young girl for ransom. She reveals her powers and soon the hunted becomes the hunter. Abigail’s initial twist sets up a promising plot structure that is ruined by the subsequent twists and turns.
1. The invisible plot structure of Abigail
1A. The script of Abigail borrows 90% of its events from 5 mythological tales
Abigail’s quest mirrors the tale of Circe from Greek mythology, where both are driven by the desire to dominate others. Circe uses a façade to lure travellers and transforms them into pigs. Abigail gets herself kidnapped to feed on her kidnappers.
Joey’s quest mirrors the tale of Kans from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire to survive a threat. Kans’ nemesis escapes from prison. Joey tranquilizes Abigail but she escapes from the cage.
Frank’s quest mirrors the tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire to confront offenders. Duryodhan unscrupulously strips his cousins of all their powers & takes over their kingdom. Frank transforms into a vampire and finally manages to overpower Abigail.
Abigail also mirrors events from the tale of Ram from Hindu mythology. Ram seeks the help of allies to defeat Ravan. Abigail seeks Joey’s help to defeat Frank.
Joey borrows events from the tale of Noah from Abrahamic mythology. Noah is forgiven by God for saving every specie. Joey is forgiven by Lazar for saving Abigail.
Lambert has an underdeveloped quest. No other characters 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
# 18,454
Tales interweaved
Circe, Noah & Duryodhan
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 Abigail's plot structure: $25-42MM
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 Abigail
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. The script uses 3 universal quests of Power, Preservation & Vengeance. It also uses the quest of Order sparingly.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Joey mirrors both the fulfilled and unfulfilled quest of Preservation. Abigail mirrors the quest of Power & Order. Frank mirrors the quest of Vengeance.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Joey borrows 14% of the events from Kans’ quest & 6% events from Noah’s quest. Abigail borrows 22% of the events from Circe’s quest & 8% from Ram’s quest. Frank borrows 21% of the events from Duryodhan’s quest.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Abigail’s quest interweaving score of 0.33 is below par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Frank & Abigail:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Abigail
The plot structure reveals inconsistent quests for both Abigail & Joey that makes the story-line disjointed.
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
0.68 – 0.84%
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 Abigail
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: Abigail mirrors the universal quest for Power
Abigail’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: Joey mirrors the universal quest for Preservation
Joey’s desire for Preservation stems from the need to survive a threat. The tale of Kans from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Preservation.
Quest 3: Frank mirrors the universal quest for Vengeance
Frank’s desire for Vengeance stems from the need to confront offenders. The tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Vengeance.
Quest 4: Abigail also mirrors the universal quest for Order
Abigail’s desire for Order stems from the need to maintain stability. The tale of Ram from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Order.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
Abigail’s plot structure suffers from character inconsistency since both Abigail & Joey mirror multiple quests. Moreover, none of the quests have sufficient depth because of which characters lack complexity and are unidimensional.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
Mythosis plot structure # 526,452 retains the quests of Circe, Kans & Duryodhan while incorporating the quest of Prometheus for Lambert.
Lambert’s quest borrowed from the tale of Prometheus solves the inconsistency of Abigail & Joey’s quest without altering the story.
It has the potential to generate revenues of $360 – 400MM in the domestic market.
The major interventions are as follows:
- Deepening the quests of Abigail, Joey & Frank: The plot structure borrows missing events from the tales of Circe, Kans & Duryodhan.
- Removing the secondary quests of Abigail & Joey: The resultant plot structure is compelling since every character has a consistent quest. However, since Abigail mirrors Circe she will hunt down Joey & Frank. They can only be saved by a person who is aware of Abigail’s weakness, has the strength to take her on and has a reason to do so. Lambert has been transformed into a vampire against his will and wants to avenge Lazar & Abigail.
- Building Lambert’s quest: The universal quest that mirrors Lambert’s desire is of Prometheus from Greek mythology. Prometheus’ desire for idealism stems from the need for fairness & justice. Man didn’t stand a chance against Zeus’ exploitation until Prometheus rebels against Zeus.
Explore Mythosis Plot structure # 526,452 that enhances current revenues by ~10X!
Tags: Power, Duryodhan, Vengeance, Kans, Preservation, Ram, Order, 2024, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Stephen Shields, Guy Busick, Radio Silence Productions, Universal Pictures