Speak No Evil
A short story stretched over 110 minutes
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$17 – 32MM V $37MM
Mythosis universal quests used
3
Audience appeal
0.44 – 0.54%
Hidden potential
NA
Speak No Evil directed by James Watkins is a remake of a 2022 Danish film. The story reimagines Circe’s mythological arc in a different setting. Mythosis uses 3 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.
1. The invisible plot structure of Speak No Evil
1A. The script of Speak No Evil borrows 85% of its events from 3 mythological tales
Paddy’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the tale of Circe from Greek mythology. Circe & Paddy create a façade to lure unsuspecting victims. Ciara mirrors Paddy’s quest as an ally.
Louise’s quest is driven by the desire to be in safe surroundings and mirrors the tale of Odysseus from Greek mythology. Both Odysseus & Louise are stuck in inhospitable territory and plan their escape.
Louise’s quest is also driven by the desire to protect loved ones and mirrors the tale of Demeter from Greek mythology. Both Demeter and Louise suffer misfortune due to the imprudence of their loved ones.
The quests of Agnes & Ben are underdeveloped.
Ant doesn’t have a well-defined quest.
Mythosis plot structure
#618
Tales interweaved
Circe & Odysseus
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 Speak No Evil's plot structure: $17 – 32MM
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 Speak No Evil
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Speak No Evil uses 3 universal quests of Power, Family and Tranquillity.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Paddy mirrors the quest of Power whereas Louise mirrors the universal quests of Family & Tranquillity.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Paddy borrows 36% of events from the quest for Power. Louise borrows 16% from the quest of Tranquillity & 6% from the quest of Family.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Speak No Evil’s quest interweaving score of 0.33 is below par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Louise & Paddy:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Speak No Evil
The plot structure of Speak No Evil isn’t unique since it draws heavily from the mythological arc of Circe. A tale that has been retold multiple times in the past, by changing the world. Relying on a singular quest for 110 minutes adversely impacts the pace – since there is a repetition of events in the story.
Moreover, the plot structure suffers from the inconsistent characterization of Louise since she pursues two quests of “family” & “tranquillity”.
Lastly, multiple characters have underdeveloped or no quest. As a result, there are gaps in the plot structure and characters aren’t nuanced enough.
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
0.02
Audience appeal
0.44% - 0.54%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
Tags: Odysseus, Circe, Tranquillity, Power, James Watkins, Christian Tafdrup, Blumhouse Productions, Universal Pictures, 2024