Kingdom of the Planet of Apes
A missed opportunity at creating a Blockbuster
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$136 – 181MM V $171MM
Mythosis universal quests used
3
Audience appeal
3.49 – 4.26%
Hidden potential
$505 – 550MM
Kingdom of the Planet of Apes is set in a post-apocalyptic world and traces Noa’s journey to bring back his abducted clan. It is the fourth installment of the franchise and a standalone film. The film has a unique plot structure, never before seen in either movies or books.
1. The invisible plot structure of Kingdom of the Planet of Apes
1A. The script of Kingdom of the Planet of Apes borrows 87% of its events from 3 mythological tales
Noa’s quest mirrors the tale of Jason from Greek mythology, where both are driven by the desire to find a person or object. Jason embarks on a journey to retrieve The Golden Fleece. Noa sets outs to find and bring back his clan.
Mae’s quest mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire to collect and own. Valmiki keeps his profession under wraps. Mae doesn’t reveal her motive to either Raka or Noa.
Proximus’ quest mirrors the tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology, where both are driven by the desire to dominate others. Ravan unscrupulously acquires and forcefully abducts at will. Proximus and his masked apes abduct other clans to strengthen his kingdom.
Sylva & Raka have underdeveloped quest of Vengeance and Honour.
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
# 16,012
Tales interweaved
Jason, Valmiki & Ravan
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 Kingdom of the Planet of Apes' plot structure: $136-181MM
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 Kingdom of the Planet of Apes
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. The script uses 3 universal quests of Expedition, Accumulation and Power.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Noa mirrors the quest of Expedition. Mae mirrors the universal quest of Accumulation whereas Proximus mirrors the quest of Power.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Noa borrows 31% of the events from Jason’s quest. Mae borrows 20% of the events from Valmiki’s quest. Proximus borrows 9% of the events from Ravan’s quest.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Kingdom of the Planet of Apes’ quest interweaving score of 0.67 is above par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Noa & Proximus:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Kingdom of the Planet of Apes
The plot structure rests on a single quest, of Noa. Even though Noa’s mirroring of Jason’s quest is marginally below threshold, leaving out important events has led to a disjointed plot structure.
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
0.12
Audience appeal
3.49 – 4.26%
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 Kingdom of the Planet of Apes
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: Noa mirrors the universal quest for Expedition
Noa’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 2: Mae mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Mae’s desire for Accumulation stems from the need to own & collect. 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: Proximus mirrors the universal quest for Power
Proximus’ desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Power.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The plot structure struggles to deepen the quest of the lead characters.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
Amending Noa’s quest by borrowing from the universal quest of Expedition marginally improves the movie’s potential.
Mythosis plot structure # 16,012 drastically improves the potential. The hidden potential is unlocked by borrowing from arcs 3 & 4 for Proximus and from arc 2 for Mae. However, borrowing events from the above-mentioned arcs alters the story. It has the potential to generate revenues of $505 – 550MM in the domestic market.
Explore Mythosis Plot structure # 16,012 that enhances current revenues by ~3.5X!
Tags: Jason, Expedition, Ravan, Power, Valmiki, Accumulation, 2024, Wes Ball, Josh Friedman, 20th Century Studios