Gladiator 2 attempts to merge two stories into one
Script potential at Domestic box office: $141 – 206MM
Two Ideal Plot structures enhance revenues by 5X!
Directed by Ridley Scott, the sequel to the successful movie Gladiator focusses on a disillusioned general, a power-hungry slave, and the rightful heir. The movie explores human desires of vengeance, idealism and power. Gladiator II’s plot structure drawn from four mythological tales indicates a single powerful quest and an inconsistent quest of the protagonist.
1.The invisible plot structure of Gladiator 2
1A. The script of Gladiator 2 borrows 94% of its events from 4 mythological tales
Acacius’ quest is driven by the desire for justice and fairness. The quest borrows events from Prometheus' tale in Greek mythology. Both Prometheus and Acacius, disillusioned by their master rebel against them.
Lucius’ quest is driven by the desire to punish offenders. The quest borrows events from Dron’s tale in Hindu mythology. Both Dron & Lucius set out to avenge their humiliation.
Lucius is also driven by the desire of idealism. His quest borrows events from Krishn’s tale in Hindu mythology. Krishn and Lucius escape from captivity to overthrow a tyrannical ruler.
Macrinus’ quest is driven by the desire to dominate others. The quest borrows events from Circe’s tale in Greek mythology. Both Circe and Macrinus create a façade of godliness to lure unsuspecting victims and seize control.
Geta & Caracalla have an underdeveloped quest of Power. Lucilla has a non-existent quest.
Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
1B. Gladiator 2’s unique plot structure extracted from our reservoir of infinite stories
Human beings are driven by 16 fundamental desires. Every desire, whether encountering fulfilment or unfulfillment, gives rise to two distinct quests. Thus, a spectrum of 32 unique quests mirrors every human desire.
We have discovered mythological tales from across civilizations that uniquely portray each one of these 32 human quests. While each mythological tale stands as a distinct quest, the true magic unfolds when these tales are combined. This synergy is evident in the epics of Odyssey and Ramayan, where various universal quests seamlessly intertwine.
Combining any five tales from the 32, generates a staggering 24 million unique story plots. Take it a step further, by combining six tales the possibilities explode to an astounding 600 million!
The plot of Gladiator 2 is a subset of two plot structures.
The first plot structure #12,143 interweaves the tales of Prometheus, Dron & Ravan. It is the story of Acacius, Lucius and The Emperors.
The second plot structure #601 interweaves the tale of Circe & Krishn, which is the story of Macrinus & Lucius.
2. The potential of Gladiator 2’s plot structure: $141 – 206MM
2A. Gladiator II’s plot structure evaluation
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales creates a billion stories. We use these 32 tales to extract the plot structure of any story across genres. The study of plot structures across Blockbuster, Hit & Flop movies led to the discovery of storytelling principles. We developed Mythosis Code to see how well a story follows these principles.
All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Gladiator 2 uses 4 universal quests of Idealism, Power & Vengeance. It uses both the fulfilled & unfulfilled quests of Idealism.
In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Acacius mirrors the universal quest of Idealism. Lucius mirrors the quests of Vengeance & Idealism. Macrinus mirrors the universal quest of Power.
Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Acacius borrows 16% from the quest of Idealism. Lucius borrows 21% from the quest of Vengeance & 10% from the quest of Idealism. Macrinus borrows 33% from the quest of Power..
Blockbusters interweave different quests to create a tight plot structure. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Gladiator 2’s quest interweaving score of 0.5 is at par. An example of interweaving the quests of Lucius & Acacius:
2B. Estimating Gladiator 2’s revenue potential from its plot structure
Gladiator 2 manages to build only one character, Macrinus. The inconsistency of Lucius’ desire weakens his quest. Acacius remains as a marginal character.
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 how many people will like the story. The number of people and current ticket prices gives us the box-office revenue.
Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences. Gladiator 2 has a script potential score is 0.12 and the movie will appeal to 3.59% - 5.39% of the population.
Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its script is $141 – 206MM in the domestic market. This algorithm has an accuracy of 91% in predicting the lifetime revenue of a movie from its script.
3. The ideal plot structure of Gladiator 2
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 in Gladiator 2 and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Acacius mirrors the universal quest for Idealism
Acacius’ desire for Idealism stems from the need for fairness & justice. The tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Idealism.
Quest 2: Lucius mirrors the universal quest for Vengeance
Lucius’ desire for Vengeance stems from the need to confront & punish offenders. The tale of Dron from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Vengeance.
Quest 3: Macrinus mirrors the universal quest for Power
Macrinus’ desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Circe from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Power.
3B. Gaps in the current plot structure
Gladiator 2 seems like two stories since the plot structure is split by multiple quests of Lucius. Moreover, the quests of all three characters doesn’t mirror enough events from their respective mythological tales.
3C. Unlocking the hidden potential
Mythosis has found two plot structures that can enhance the script of Gladiator 2. The first one deepens the quests of Lucius, Acacius & The Emperor. The second plot structure interweaves the quests of Macrinus, Acacius & Lucius.
1. Mythosis plot structure #12,143 interweaves the universal quests of Vengeance, Idealism & Power.
• A unique story that combines the mythological tales of Dron, Prometheus & Ravan.
• It begins with Acacius witnessing the “spirit of Rome” in Numidia and his refusal to annexe it.
• The story uses events from 4 arcs of Dron’s tale & 3 arcs of Prometheus and Ravan’s tale.
2. Mythosis plot structure #18,105 interweaves the universal quests of Power, fulfilled and unfulfilled quests of Idealism.
• A unique story that combines the mythological tales of Circe, Prometheus & Krishn.
• It begins with Macrinus becoming a despot after incarcerating Lucilla & Lucius.
• The story uses events from 3 arcs of Krishn & Circe and 4 arcs of Prometheus.
Both plot structures enhance current revenues by 5X!
Tags:2024, Circe, David Scarpa, Dron, Idealism, Long range prediction, Mythology, Paramount Pictures, Peter Craig, Plot Structure, Power, Prometheus, Ridley Scott, Scott Free Productions, storytelling, Vengeance
