Gone Girl
No wrath like a woman scorned
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$120 – 147 V $168MM
Mythosis universal quests used
3
Audience appeal
4.63 – 5.66%
Script Score
0.16
Released in 2014, Gone Girl is directed by David Fincher and written by Gillian Flynn, based on her novel. The story is about a tumultuous marriage where the husband becomes the prime suspect for his wife’s disappearance. It explores basic human quests of power, accumulation and expedition. Mythosis uses 3 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.
1. The invisible plot structure of Gone Girl
1A. The script of Gone Girl borrows 86% of its events from 3 mythological tales
Amy’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the tale of Circe from Greek mythology. Both Circe and Amy create a façade to entrap unsuspecting victims.
Nick’s quest is driven by the desire to collect unscrupulously and mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki and Nick are self-centered, even to the point of sacrificing their loved ones.
Rhonda’s quest is driven by the desire for finding an elusive person/object and mirrors the tale of Gilgamesh from Sumerian mythology. Both Gilgamesh & Rhonda set out to find the “elixir of life”.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
# 17,871
Tales interweaved
Circe, Valmiki & Gilgamesh
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 Gone Girl’s plot structure: $120 – 147MM
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 Gone Girl
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Gone Girl uses 3 universal quests of Expedition, Accumulation & Power.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Amy mirrors the universal quest of Power. Nick mirrors the quest of Accumulation. Rhonda mirrors the quest of Expedition.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Amy borrows 44% from the universal quest of Power. Nick mirrors 22% from the universal quest of Accumulation. Rhonda borrows 9% from the universal quest of Expedition.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Gone Girl has a quest interweaving score of 0.67 and is above par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Amy & Nick:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Gone Girl
Even though the plot structure of Gone Girl borrows from 3 mythological tales the 3rd quest is extremely shallow.
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
0.16
Audience appeal
4.63 – 5.66%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of Gone Girl
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 and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Amy mirrors the universal quest for Power
Amy’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Circe from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Power.
Quest 2: Nick mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Nick’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 3: Rhonda mirrors the universal quest for Expedition
Rhonda’s desire for Expedition stems from the need to find an elusive person/object. The tale of Gilgamesh from Sumerian mythology is the universal quest for Expedition.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The gap in Gone Girl’s plot structure arises from relatively weaker quests of Nick & Rhonda in comparison to Amy.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of Gone Girl is a subset of blockbuster plot structure #17,871 that interweaves the tales of Circe, Valmiki & Gilgamesh.
Contact us for Gone Girl’s plot structure #17,871
Tags: Circe, Gilgamesh, Valmiki, Power, Expedition, Accumulation, David Fincher, Gillian Flynn, Regency Enterprises, TSG Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, 2014