Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$139 – 171MM V $174MM
Mythosis universal quests used
3
Audience appeal
3.64 – 4.44%
Script Score
0.13
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a 2023 movie directed by James Mangold. It is the fifth and final installment in the Indiana Jones film series. The story is about Indy trying to locate an artifact with his estranged goddaughter before a Nazi-turned-NASA scientist can use it for his own nefarious purpose.
1. The invisible plot structure of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
1A. The script of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny borrows 84% of its events from 3 mythological tales
Indy’s quest is driven by the desire for finding an elusive person/object. The quest borrows events from the tale of Gilgamesh in Sumerian mythology. Both Gilgamesh & Indy lose the “elixir of life” after finding it.
Helena’s quest is driven by selfishness. The quest borrows events from the tale of Valmiki in Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Helena are self-centred but eventually have a change of heart and sacrifice their interest.
Voller’s quest is driven by the desire to punish offenders. The quest borrows events from the tale of Duryodhan in Hindu mythology. Duryodhan’s treacherous attempts to take over the kingdom is similar to Voller attempting to change history.
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
# 30,338
Tales interweaved
Duryodhan, Gilgamesh & Valmiki
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 Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny's plot structure: $139-171MM
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 Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny uses 3 universal quests of Expedition, Accumulation & Vengeance.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Indy mirrors the universal quest of Expedition, Helena mirrors Accumulation & Voller mirrors Vengeance.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Indy borrows 33% events from the quest for Expedition. Helena borrows 32% events from the quest for Accumulation and Voller borrows 20% events from the quest for Vengeance.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny’s quest interweaving score is 0.33 and below par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Helena & Voller:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
The plot structure of Indiana Jones Dial of Destiny fails to interweave Indy’s quest with either Helena or Voller. Additionally, none of the character quests are well developed.
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
0.13
Audience appeal
3.64 - 4.44%
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 Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
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: Indy mirrors the universal quest for Expedition
Indy’s desire for Expedition stems from the need to find an elusive object. The tale of Gilgamesh from Sumerian mythology is the universal quest for Expedition.
Quest 2: Helena mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Helena’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 3: Voller mirrors the universal quest for Vengeance
Voller’s desire for Vengeance stems from the need to punish offenders. The tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Vengeance.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
Mythosis has identified two gaps – Lack of well developed character quests and Indy’s quest operating in isolation.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a sub set of Mythosis Plot Structure # 30,338. It interweaves the tales of Duryodhan, Gilgamesh & Valmiki.
Unlock the potential with Mythosis Plot Structure # 30,338
Tags: Valmiki, Gilgamesh, Duryodhan, Expedition, Accumulation, Vengeance, James Mangold, Disney, Lucasfilm Ltd., 2023