Alien Romulus
Undone by a paper-thin plot structure
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$87 – 125MM V $105MM
Mythosis universal quests used
4
Audience appeal
2.12 – 2.60%
Hidden Potential
$456 – 504MM
Alien: Romulus directed by Fede Álvarez is the nth instalment in the Alien franchise. Though the story explores various human desires, it soon sacrifices them in favour of the most familiar arc of tranquillity. Mythosis, with the help of 4 mythological tales has extracted the plot structure of the movie to estimate and unlock its potential.
1. The invisible plot structure of Alien Romulus
1A. The script of Alien Romulus borrows 89% of its events from 4 mythological tales
Tyler’s quest is driven by the desire to find an elusive person/object and mirrors the tale of Jason from Greek mythology. Jason rallies argonauts to help him acquire the Golden Fleece. Similarly, Tyler convinces Rain & Andy help him steal cryostasis pods.
Xenomorph has an underdeveloped quest of power. It is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the quest of Ravan from Hindu mythology.
Andy’s quest is driven by the desire to serve a clan/order and mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Andy shield their clan & its members from any danger.
Rain’s quest is driven by the desire to be in safe surroundings and mirrors the tale of Odysseus from Greek mythology. Both Odysseus & Rain want to go home but are stuck in inhospitable territory.
Rook has no 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
# 478,222
Tales interweaved
Jason, Ravan, Hanuman & Odysseus
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 Alien Romulus' plot structure: $87 – 125MM
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 Alien Romulus
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Alien Romulus uses 3 universal quests of Expedition, Honour and Tranquillity. The quest of Power is underutilised.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Tyler mirrors the quest of Expedition. Andy mirrors the universal quest of Honour. Rain mirrors the universal quest of Tranquillity.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Tyler borrows 8% of events from the quest for Expedition. Andy borrows 10% from the quest of Honour. Rain borrows 38% from the quest of Tranquillity.
- 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 Alien Romulus is 0.33 and is below par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Rain & Andy:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Alien Romulus
The script of Alien Romulus relies heavily on Odysseus’ tale rather than multiple tales. All the characters are consistent but except for Rain & Andy none of the other character quests are 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
0.07
Audience appeal
2.12 – 2.60%
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 Alien Romulus
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: Tyler mirrors the universal quest for Expedition
Tyler’s desire for Expedition stems from the need to find an elusive object. The tale of Jason from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Expedition.
Quest 2: Andy mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Andy’s desire for Honour stems from the need to serve ones’ clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 3: Rain mirrors the universal quest for Tranquillity
Rain’s desire for Tranquillity stems from the need to be in secure surroundings. The tale of Odysseus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Tranquillity.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The ideal plot structure of Alien Romulus #478,222 is a blockbuster plot structure. This plot structure interweaves 4 universal quests of Expedition, Power, Honour & Tranquillity.
- The current plot structure of Alien Romulus borrows only a part of this ideal plot structure with Rain’s quest being the closest.
- The biggest gap is the magnitude of the plot structure. This is due to the non-existent quest of Xenomorph and the unutilized quests of Andy & Tyler.
- The other gap is the cohesiveness of the plot structure. The shallow quests of characters (barring Rain) make interweaving of quests difficult and results in a disjointed plot structure.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
Mythosis plot structure #478,222 has a well-developed quest for Xenomorph, Andy & Tyler.
The Xenomorph mirrors events from the tale of Ravan in Hindu mythology.
Building Xenomorph’s quest also helps in improving the interweaving of the various quests.
Additionally, it provides Rook with a meaningful quest.
Explore Mythosis plot structure #478,222 to enhance current revenues by 5x!
Tags: Odysseus, Jason, Tranquillity, Honour, Expedition, Fede Álvarez, Rodo Sayagues, Scott Free Productions, Brandywine Productions, TSG Entertainment, 20th Century Studios, 2024