Challengers
Out & out it's a double fault
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$31 – 50MM V $50MM
Mythosis universal quests used
3
Audience appeal
0.86 – 1.06%
Hidden potential
$400 – 440MM
Challengers follows the lives of three tennis players as they navigate their careers. Unlike the trailers, the film is about Acceptance, Status and Ambition.
1. The invisible plot structure of Challengers
1A. The script of Challengers borrows 91% of its events from 3 mythological tales
Tashi’s quest mirrors the tale of Kaikeyi from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire for social standing & respect. Kaikeyi retains her position in the kingdom by forcing her husband to exile his son. Tashi threatens to leave Art when he decides to quit the game.
Art’s quest mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by repentance for their actions. Valmiki gives up robbery to become a sage. Art’s journey captures a part of the universal quest – severs ties with his childhood friend
Patrick’s quest mirrors the tale of Karn from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire for approval by others. Karn is abandoned by loved ones and seeks acceptance in life. Patrick seeks acceptance from Tashi & Art after being cut out by them.
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
# 26,167
Tales interweaved
Kaikeyi, Karn, 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 Challengers' plot structure: $31-50MM
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 Challengers
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Challengers uses 3 universal quests of Status, Acceptance & Accumulation.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Tashi mirrors the quest of Status. Patrick mirrors the universal quest of Acceptance whereas Art mirrors the quest of Accumulation.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Tashi borrows 18% of the events from Kaikeyi’s quest. Art borrows 10% of the events from Valmiki’s quest. Patrick borrows 7% of the events from Karn’s quest.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Challengers’ quest interweaving score of 0.67 is above par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Tashi & Art:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Challengers
Since all quests are shallow, the characters mirroring them lack complexity and are unidimensional. The shallowness of quests coupled with non linear structure results in a plot.
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
0.03
Audience appeal
0.86 – 1.06%
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 Challengers
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: Tashi mirrors the universal quest for Status
Tashi’s desire for Status stems from the need for social standing & respect. The tale of Kaikeyi from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Status.
Quest 2: Art mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Art’s desire for Accumulation stems from the need to own & collect. 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 3: Patrick mirrors the universal quest for Acceptance
Patrick’s desire for Acceptance stems from the need for approval by others. The tale of Karn from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Acceptance.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
Challengers’ plot structure suffers from shallow quests of every character. It seems like a stretched short story.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
Challengers’ plot is a sub set of Mythosis plot structure # 26,167. It interweaves the tales of Kaikeyi, Karn & Valmiki.
- The plot structure deepens the quests of Tashi, Art and Patrick by borrowing missing events from the tales of Kaikeyi, Scrooge & Karn.
- It also amends the moral compass of Patrick as illustrated in the previous section.
- It has the potential to generate revenues of $400 – 440MM in the domestic market.
Explore Mythosis Plot structure # 26,167 that enhances current revenues by ~10X!
Tags: Kaikeyi, Status, Karn, Acceptance, Valmiki, Accumulation, 2024, Luca Guadagnino, Justin Kuritzkes, Amazon MGM Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures