Black Adam
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$136 – 166MM V $168MM
Mythosis universal quests used
4
Audience appeal
3.87 – 4.30%
Script Score
0.13
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra in 2022, Black Adam is the story of an ancient superhuman, imprisoned for millennia, released by a group of archaeologists to free the nation from a crime syndicate.
1. The invisible plot structure of Black Adam
1A. The script of Black Adam borrows 87% of its events from 4 mythological tales
Adam’s quest is driven by selfishness. The quest borrows events from the tale of Valmiki in Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Adam are self-centred but eventually have a change of heart and sacrifice their interest.
Adam’s quest is also driven by the desire for honour & loyalty. The quest borrows events from the tale of Hanuman in Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Adam demonstrate unquestioned loyalty, showing a willingness to sacrifice themselves.
Ishmael’s quest is driven by the desire to punish offenders. The quest borrows events from the tale of Duryodhan in Hindu mythology. Duryodhan repeatedly attempting to eliminate his cousins to control the kingdom is similar to Ishmael attempting to get the Crown.
Adrianna’s under developed quest is driven by the desire for finding an elusive person/object. The quest borrows events from the tale of Jason in Greek mythology. Jason’s desire to find with The Golden Fleece is shared by Adrianna trying to find the Crown.
Justice Society has an under developed quest of Order since it borrows only a few events from the tale of Ram in Hindu mythology.
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
# 30,283
Tales interweaved
Duryodhan, Ram & Hanuman
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 Black Adam's plot structure: $136 – 166MM
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 Black Adam
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Black Adam has 3 universal quests of Vengeance, Accumulation & Honour. The quest of Expedition is scarcely used.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Adam mirrors the quests of Accumulation & Honour. Ishmael mirrors the universal quest of Vengeance.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Adam borrows 19% events from the quest for Accumulation & 48% events from the quest for Honour. Ishmael borrows 24% events from the quest for Vengeance. Adrianna borrows 10% events from the quest for Expedition.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Black Adam’s quest interweaving score is 0.67 and is above par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Adam & Adrianna:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Black Adam
Adam’s character quest vacillates between Honour & Accumulation. All the other characters are inadequately developed.
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
0.13
Audience appeal
3.87 – 4.30%
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 Black Adam
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: Adam mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Adam’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.
Quest 2: Adam mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Adam’s desire for Honour stems from the need to be loyal to clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 3: Ishmael mirrors the universal quest for Vengeance
Ishmael’s desire for Vengeance stems from the need to punish offenders. The tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Vengeance.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The plot structure reveals inconsistent and/or shallow quests for every character.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of Black Adam is a subset of plot structure # 30,283. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Duryodhan, Ram & Hanuman.
Contact us for Mythosis plot structure # 30,283
Tags: Duryodhan, Jason, Hanuman, Valmiki, Vengeance, Expedition, Honour, Accumulation, Jaume Collet-Serra, New Line Cinema, DC Films, Seven Bucks Productions, FlynnPictureCo., Warner Bros. Pictures, 2022