Plot structure will appeal to 2.01 – 2.45% of the population
Mythosis uses four mythological tales to enhance revenues by 5x
Ghostbusters Frozen Empire released in 2024 is the fifth installment in the Ghostbusters franchise. The Spengler family team up with the original Ghostbusters to protect the Firehouse and save the world from an evil force. Mythosis, dives into the plot structure to fix the story that loses its coherence quite quickly.
Mythological tales reveal the invisible Plot Structure of Ghostbusters Frozen Empire
Stories are an interweaving of quests, each representing a fundamental human desire. These desires echo across time and cultures, finding their universal counterparts in mythological tales.
88% of the events in the story is borrowed from four mythological tales. There are 4 prominent characters in the movie each driven by distinct desires.
Phoebe’s quest mirrors the tale of Theseus from Greek mythology, where both are driven by the desire for approval from others. Theseus saves Athenians from Minotaur after getting accepted by his father King Aegeus. Phoebe overpowers Garraka after getting accepted by her parents
Garraka’s quest mirrors the tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire to dominate others. Ravan escapes from Shiva’s captivity and unleashes his terror. Garraka engineers his escape from the orb and wreaks havoc
Nadeem’s quest mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire to be loyal to a clan or order. Hanuman is unaware of his superpowers and on realizing them helps Ram win the war. Nadeem is unaware that he’s a firemaster and takes on Garraka after discovering his power.
Melody’s quest mirrors the tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology, where both are driven by the desire for fairness and justice. Prometheus, Zeus’ trusted lieutenant rebels against him to help MAN. Melody rebels against Garraka and helps the Ghostbusters.
Underdeveloped quests: Callie & Grooberson’s quest of nurturing and protecting the family. Ray’s quest of finding an elusive person or object. Winston’s quest of surviving a threat.
Detailed mirroring of each character to their respective mythological tales is in section “Unlocking the Ideal Plot Structure”
Blockbusters differ from Flops in the way they borrow from mythological tales
Blockbuster stories consistently defy the norms of conventional plot structures. The analysis of Blockbuster, Hit & Flop plot structures across decades and genres has uncovered an optimal method for incorporating mythological tales into storytelling. The Mythosis Code for creating blockbuster plot structures has the following principles -
Every blockbuster plot structure borrows events from at least three mythological tales.
Blockbuster characters are consistent and complex. Each character in the story reflects events from a single mythological tale, and the degree of mirroring is approximately 35%.
Blockbusters create a cohesive plot structure by intricately weaving the multiple tales. Characters are woven with each other through their quests and not merely by relationships. Quests become interconnected when events from two mythological tales occur simultaneously within the story.
Mythosis Code evaluation of Ghostbusters’ Plot structure
Ghostbusters’ plot structure borrows from four mythological tales.
Each character uniquely mirrors a single tale which makes them consistent.
All character quests are below the threshold. Phoebe borrows 21% of the events from Theseus’ quest. Garraka borrows 20% of the events from Ravan’s quest. Nadeem borrows 21% of the events from Hanuman’s quest. Melody borrows 20% of the events from Prometheus’ quest.
Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.50. Garraka’s quest is interwoven with the quests of Melody & Nadeem. No other quests are interwoven. Ghostbusters’ quest interweaving score of 0.27 is below par. Here is an example of interweaving the quests of Garraka & Melody:
Estimated potential of Ghostbusters’ Plot Structure
Each one of us is driven by at least one desire, which is why specific mythological tales resonate with us. When a story interweaves more tales, it broadens the story’s appeal to a wider audience. However, to realize the power of multiple quests, the quests must have sufficient depth and they should be interwoven. Ghostbusters’ plot structure is disjointed due to low interweaving of quests. Additionally, none of the character quests have sufficient depth.
We have created an algorithm by assigning weights to the principles of The Mythosis Code. The algorithm calculates the potency of a story’s plot structure and estimates its corresponding audience appeal. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Ghostbusters’ plot structure has a score of 0.07. The movie will appeal to 2.01 – 2.45% of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $80 – 117MM in the domestic market.
Unlocking the Ideal Plot Structure of Ghostbuster
We have identified 32 universal quests that represent every human desire. These quests are the superset of thousands of stories across cultures that reflect our collective subconscious. Each quest has a structured sequence of events divided into 5 major arcs.
We map a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale (universal quest) which reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. The ideal Plot Structure is constructed by plugging these gaps with the missing events from the tale. These events strengthen each character’s journey and weaving of quests without altering the story.
Extraction of each character quest
Quest 1: Phoebe mirrors the universal quest for Acceptance
Phoebe’s desire for Acceptance stems from the need for approval from others. The tale of Theseus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Acceptance.
Quest 2: Garraka mirrors the universal quest for Power
Garraka’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Power.
Quest 3: Nadeem mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Nadeem’s desire for Honour stems from the need for loyalty to a clan or order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 4: Melody mirrors the universal quest for Idealism
Melody’s desire for Idealism stems from the need fairness & justice. The tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Idealism.
Ideal Plot structure reconstruction
The ideal plot structure borrows additional events from the tale of Theseus, Ravan & Prometheus. The 3 major interventions are as follows:
Prometheus’ rebellion: Melody reveals Garraka’s past to Phoebe and finds Nadeem for her
Aegeus accepts Theseus: Phoebe is accepted back for having a plan to overcome Garraka
Minotaur’s fall: Phoebe, Nadeem & Melody ploy to defeat Garraka
These events enhance the plot structure score from 0.07 to 0.38, resulting in a 5x increase in the movie’s revenues. However, the story’s potential can be drastically enhanced by eliminating the “possessor ghost” quest and a few other events that distract from the main story.
Tags:2024, Acceptance, Character Arcs, Columbia Pictures, Gil Kenan, Hanuman, Honour, Idealism, Jason Reitman, Mythology, Power, Prometheus, Ravan, Screenwriting, Sony Pictures Releasing, Story plot, storytelling, Theseus
