• Estimated vs Actual box office revenue: $129 – 143MM vs actual $117MM (coronavirus impact)
95% events in Jungle Cruise are borrowed from 5 mythological tales
Jungle Cruise released in 2021 is a perilous journey through the Amazon jungle in search of the mythical Tree of Life, which is said to have healing powers. The story explores basic human desires of expedition, accumulation, social contact, idealism & vengeance. Mythosis uses 5 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.
1. Mythological tales reveal the invisible plot structure of any story
1A. 95% of the events are borrowed from 5 mythological tales
Lily's quest is driven by the desire to find an elusive person/object and mirrors the tale of Jason from Greek mythology. Both Jason & Lily take on an impossible task of recovery.
Lily has another quest where she is driven by the desire for companionship and mirrors the tale of Psyche from Greek mythology. Both Psyche & Lily fall in love with the monster after suspecting them initially.
Joachim’s quest is driven by the desire to punish offenders and mirrors the tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology. Both Duryodhan & Joachim unscrupulously acquire a coveted object.
Frank’s quest is driven by the desire to collect & own and mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Frank repent being self-centered & transform.
Frank has another quest where he is driven by the desire for justice and mirrors the tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology. Prometheus rebels against Zeus to save Man from exploitation. Similarly, Frank sides with the Amazon tribe against Aguirre’s brutality.
Detailed mirroring of each character to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
1B. 32 mythological tales are the source of all stories, even the untold ones
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 ideal plot structure of Jungle Cruise is # 16,808. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Jason, Duryodhan & Valmiki. However, the current plot structure has borrowed events from the tales of Prometheus & Psyche also.
2. Plot structure potential of Jungle Cruise: $129-143MM
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Jungle Cruise
An analysis of Blockbuster, Hit & Flop plots has led to the discovery of Mythosis Code. The Code reveals the story principles shared by all Blockbusters. We use the Code to estimate a story’s potential.
All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Jungle Cruise uses 5 universal quests of Expedition, Accumulation, Social Contact, Idealism and Vengeance.
In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Frank mirrors the universal quest of Accumulation & Idealism. Joachim mirror the universal quest of Vengeance. Lily mirrors the quest of Expedition & Social Contact.
Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Frank borrows 33% from the universal quest of Accumulation & 6% from the quest of Idealism. Joachim borrows 20% from the universal quest of Vengeance. Lily borrows 31% of events from the quest for Expedition & 16% from the quest for Social Contact.
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. Jungle Cruise has a quest interweaving score of 0.33 and is below par. An example of interweaving the quests of Frank & Lily:
2B. Plot structure is the most important but least understood element of storytelling
Any plot structure that borrows events from at least 3 mythological tales has high resonance. In our own lives, each one of us identifies with at least one quest to fulfil a basic human desire. The more quests woven into a story, the wider its appeal.
The nature of mythological tales used, makes the plot structure fresh & unique. Besides, appealing to a larger audience size the interweaving of various human desires creates a unique and original story.
Interweaving mythological tales makes the plot structure cohesive. Stories become seamless when characters are woven with each other through their quests and not merely by relationships.
Characters are consistent when they mirror a single mythological tale. Characters pursuing more than one quest appear confusing due to their divergent desires.
Borrowing 35% or more events from each mythological tale strengthens both the plot structure & character. The plot structure becomes flat when characters borrow less than the threshold. Each mythological tale has multiple twists & turns hence no forced injection is required. Characters become layered & complex when their journey is deep.
2C. Measuring the revenue potential of Jungle Cruise
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.
The plot structure of Jungle Cruise suffers due to the inconsistent characters of Lily and Frank. Every character borrows less than the threshold from their respective quests and hence are underdeveloped.
Jungle Cruise has a script potential score is 0.13 and the movie will appeal to 3.6 – 4.4% of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $129 – 143MM in the domestic market.
3. The ideal plot structure of Jungle Cruise
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 both the journey of characters as well as the weaving of quests without altering the story.
Quest 1: Lily mirrors the universal quest for Expedition
Lily’s desire for Expedition stems from the need to find an elusive person or object. The tale of Jason from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Expedition.
Quest 3: Frank mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Frank’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 4: Lily also mirrors the universal quest for Social Contact
Lily’s desire for Social Contact stems from the need to seek companionship. The tale of Psyche from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Social Contact.
Quest 2: Joachim mirrors the universal quest for Vengeance
Joachim’s desire for Vengeance stems from the need to punish offenders. The tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Vengeance.
Tags:2021, Accumulation, Blockbuster movies, Duryodhan, Glenn Ficarra, Jason, Jaume Collet-Serra, John Requa, Michael Green, Mythology, Plot Structure, Prediction, Psyche, Social Contact, storytelling, Valmiki, Vengeance, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
