Godzilla x Kong’s plot potential is $140 – 186MM (actual 196MM)

Godzilla x Kong is the 2024 offering of Monsterverse. A clash of the Titans movie that attempts to establish the age-old connection between man and monster. However, the role of human characters in the movie undermines the story. Mythosis, extracts the movie’s plot structure and find ways to make it cohesive.

Mythological tales reveal the invisible Plot Structure of Godzilla x Kong

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.

91% of the events in the story is borrowed from six mythological tales. There are 6 prominent characters in the movie each driven by distinct desires.

Kong’s quest mirrors the tale of Odysseus from Greek mythology, where both are driven by the desire to be in secure surroundings. Odysseus longs to return home and is helped by Aeolus, Hermes, Athena to overcome challenges. Kong hopes to find his kin and is helped by Suko, Beasley, Mothra to overcome Skar King.

Skar King’s quest mirrors the tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire to confront offenders. Duryodhan turns vicious after being denied the kingdom of Hastinapur. Skar King destroys the Monarch outpost to avenge his banishment.

Godzilla’s quest mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire for Honour. Hanuman doesn’t trust Ram but later agrees to help him. Godzilla attacks Kong but later joins forces with him.

Suko’s quest mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology where both are driven by the desire to collect & own. An act of forgiveness alters Valmiki’s moral compass. Suko’s transformation begins with Kong’s forgiveness.

Jia’s quest mirrors the tale of Noah from Abrahamic mythology, where both are driven by the desire to survive a threat. Noah is tasked and helped by God to build an ark. Jia is helped by Iwi tribe to reawaken Mothra.

Ilene’s quest mirrors the tale of Demeter from Greek mythology, where both are driven by the desire to nurture and protect. Demeter abandons search for Persephone. Ilene concludes that Jia stay back with the Iwi tribe.

Bernie Hayes has no quest.

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 Godzilla x Kong’s Plot structure

Godzilla x Kongs’ plot structure borrows from six mythological tales.

Each character uniquely mirrors a single tale which makes them consistent.

All character quests except Kong’s quest are below the threshold. Kong borrows 40% of the events from Odysseus’ quest. Skar King borrows 27% of the events from Duryodhan’s quest. Godzilla, Suko, Jia and Ilene borrow only 10% of the events from their respective quests.

Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.50. Kong’s quest is interwoven with the quests of Skar King, Godzilla & Suko. Skar King’s quest is also interwoven with Godzilla & Suko. Ilene & Jia’s quest isn’t interwoven with any other character. Godzilla x Kong’s quest interweaving score of 0.33 is below par. Here is an example of interweaving the quests of Kong & Godzilla:

Estimated potential of Godzilla x Kong’s Plot Structure

Each one of us is driven by at least one desire, which is why specific 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.

Even though the plot structure of Godzilla x Kong has six quests it relies only on Kong's quest to move the story forward, not even Skar King. Morever, the plot structure is disjointed due to weak interweaving of quests.

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.

Godzilla x Kong's plot structure has a score of 0.12. Godzilla x Kong will appeal to 3.59 – 4.39% of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $140 – 186MM in the domestic market.

Unlocking the Ideal Plot Structure of Godzilla x Kong

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: Kong mirrors the universal quest for Tranquillity

Kong’s desire for Tranquillity stems from the need to be in secure surroundings. The tale of Odysseus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Tranquillity.

Quest 2: Skar King mirrors the universal quest for Vengeance

Skar King’s desire for Vengeance stems from the need to confront offenders. The tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Vengeance.

Quest 3: Godzilla mirrors the universal quest for Honour

Godzilla’s desire for Honour stems from the need to be loyal to a clan or order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.

Quest 4: Suko mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation

Suko’s desire for Accumulation stems from the need to collect and 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 5: Jia mirrors the universal quest for Preservation

Suko’s desire for Preservation stems from the need to survive a threat. The tale of Noah from Abrahamic mythology is the universal quest for Preservation.

Quest 6: Ilene mirrors the universal quest for Family

Ilene’s desire for Family stems from the need to nurture and protect. The tale of Demeter from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Family.

Ideal Plot structure reconstruction

The plot structure of Godzilla x Kong largely borrows from the quest of Odysseus & Duryodhan. Borrowing additional events from these tales marginally improves the story potential. Since compelling stories have at least 3 powerful quests, it doesn’t solve the two issues of a. shallow quests of Godzilla, Suko, Jia & Ilene b. non-interweaving of quests.

There are 3 ideal plot structure possibilities but all of them entail a re-writing of the story. Each possibility has little role for human characters, who have undermined the current plot structure! The most powerful plot structure builds on the quests of both Godzilla & Suko alongwith the quests of Kong & Skar King. The other two plot structures interweaves either the quest of Godzilla or Suko with Kong & Skar King.

Tags: 2024, Accumulation, Adam Wingard, Character Arcs, Demeter, Duryodhan, Family, Hanuman, Honour, Legendary Entertainment, Mythology, Noah, Odysseus, Preservation, Screenwriting, Simon Barrett, Story plot, storytelling, Terry Rossio, Tranquillity, Valmiki, Vengeance, Warner Bros.