Don't Look Up
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$53 – 62MM V NA
Mythosis universal quests used
5
Audience appeal
1.58 – 1.94%
Script Score
0.06
Don’t Look Up is a 2021 movie directed by Adam McKay. The story follows two astronomers who discover a comet on a collision course with Earth. They try to warn humanity about the impending disaster but face indifference and skepticism.
1. The invisible plot structure of Don't Look Up
1A. The script of Don't Look Up borrows 93% of its events from 5 mythological tales
Kate’s quest is driven by loyalty & honour. The quest borrows events from the tale of Amba from Hindu mythology. After being dishonoured, both Amba and Kate cease to be righteous and are punished.
Mindy’s quest is driven by selfishness. The quest borrows events from the tale of Valmiki in Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Mindy are self-centred but eventually have a change of heart and sacrifice their interest.
Mindy’s quest is also driven by the desire for fairness and justice. The quest borrows events from the tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology. Similar to Prometheus, Mindy rebels to prevent exploitation by unscrupulous forces.
Peter’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others. The quest borrows events from the tale of Circe in Greek mythology. Both Circe and Peter create a façade of godliness and treachery to seize control. control gullible victims.
Orleans’ quest is driven by the desire to punish offenders. The quest borrows events from the tale of Duryodhan in Hindu mythology. Duryodhan’s refusal to return his kins’ kingdom is similar to Orleans’ trying to spike her ratings.
Brie doesn’t have a substantial 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
# 299,718
Tales interweaved
Amba, Duryodhan, Valmiki & Circe
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 Don't Look Up's plot structure: $53 – 62MM
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 Don't Look Up
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Don’t Look Up has 5 universal quests of Honour, Accumulation, Idealism, Vengeance & Power.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Kate mirrors the universal quest of Honour. Mindy mirrors both Accumulation & Idealism. Peter mirrors the quest of Power whereas Orleans mirrors the quest of Vengeance.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Kate borrows 27% events from the quest for Honour. Mindy borrows 16% events from the quest for Accumulation & 30% from Idealism. Peter borrows 19% events from Power whereas Orleans borrows 16% from Vengeance.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Don’t Look Up’s quest interweaving score is 0.5 and at par.
An example of interweaving of the quests of Mindy & Peter:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Don't Look Up
The plot structure reveals a mix of inconsistent & shallow quests
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
0.06
Audience appeal
1.58 - 1.94%
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 Don't Look Up
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
Kate’s desire for Honour stems from the need to be loyal to one’s clan/order. The tale of Amba from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 2: Mindy mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Mindy’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 3: Mindy mirrors the universal quest for Idealism
Mindy’s desire for Idealism stems from the need for fairness & justice. The tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Idealism.
Quest 4: Orleans mirrors the universal quest for Vengeance
Orleans’ desire for Vengeance stems from the need to punish offenders. The tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Vengeance.
Quest 5: Peter mirrors the universal quest for Power
Peter’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Circe from Greek mythology is the fulfilled quest for Power.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The quest of Mindy is inconsistent and every other quest is shallow.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
Plot structure of Don’t Look Up is a sub set of Mythosis Plot Structure # 299,718. It interweaves the tales of Amba, Duryodhan, Valmiki & Circe.
Unlock the potential with Mythosis Plot Structure # 299,718!
Tags: Amba, Duryodhan, Prometheus, Circe, Valmiki, Honour, Power, Vengeance, Idealism, Accumulation, Adam McKay, Hyperobject Industries, Bluegrass Films, Netflix, 2021