Sinners
A high concept that falls short
ESTIMATED domestic box office revenue
$155 – 214MM
Mythosis universal quests used
5
Audience appeal
3.93 – 4.81%
Hidden potential
$503 – 557MM
Sinners directed and written by Ryan Coogler released in 2025. The story revolves around twin brothers. They open a juke joint to celebrate music but end up drawing the attention of a vampire.
The script presents a powerful high concept. Also, creates a unique world. Introduces a variety of characters, hinting at a story rich with possibilities. But, it narrows its focus to two quests. Leaves the other quests unexplored. An opportunity for a compelling and fresh story, wasted. The story reduced to the familiar tale of Odysseus and Circe.
1. The invisible plot structure of Sinners
1A. The script of Sinners borrows 94% of its events from 5 mythological tales
The desire to be in a safe environment drives Smoke’s quest. The quest borrows events from the tale of Odysseus in Greek mythology. Both Odysseus and Smoke navigate their way through hostile territory. Not alone but with the help of others.
The desire to dominate others drives Remmick’s quest. The quest borrows events from the tale of Circe in Greek mythology. Both Circe and Remmick create a façade of deception to seize control.
Selfishness drives Stack’s quest. The quest borrows events from the tale of Valmiki in Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Stack are self-centered. Eventually, they have a change of heart.
Mary’s shallow quest also borrows from the tale of Circe in Greek mythology. Loved ones snubbed both Circe and Mary against expectations.
The desire for honour drives Annie’s shallow quest. The quest borrows events from the tale of Hanuman in Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Annie show unquestioned loyalty. Even showing a willingness to sacrifice themselves to protect their friends.
The desire to explore drives Sammie’s under-developed quest. The quest borrows events from the tale of Innana in Sumerian mythology. Both Innana and Sammie pay the price for their imprudence. In the end rescued by well-wishers.
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
#135,404
Tales interweaved
Valmiki, Odysseus, Hanuman & Circe
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. Potential of Sinners' plot structure: $155–214MM
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. The Code is a set of principles for creating compelling stories. These storytelling principles reveal the strength of a story’s plot structure.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Sinners
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Sinners uses 3 universal quests of Power, Tranquillity & Accumulation. The quest of Honour is shallow.
- In Blockbusters, every character mirrors ONLY ONE universal quest. Smoke mirrors the quest of Tranquillity. Remmick mirrors the quest of Power. Stack vacillates between Accumulation & Power after turning into a vampire.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Smoke & Remmick borrow 36% events from their respective quests of Tranquillity and Power. Stack borrow 18% events from Accumulation. Mary borrows 10% from Power whereas Annie borrows 7% from Honour.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Sinners’ quest interweaving score of 0.38 is below par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Smoke & Remmick:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Sinners
Sinners has two powerful quests of Smoke and Remmick. The script establishes four more characters well. But fails to explore and leverage their quests.
The Script Score measures the potency of a plot structure. Higher its adherence to the principles of Mythosis Code, greater is the potency. The Script Score helps 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
0.14
Audience appeal
3.93% – 4.81%
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 Sinners
We have identified 32 mythological tales. These are the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours 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.
32 mythological tales strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential. First, we map a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale. This exercise reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Second, identify missing events to plug the gaps. Plugging gaps deepens the character quest. Third, use missing events to strengthen the interweaving between various quests.
3A. Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Smoke mirrors the universal quest for Tranquillity
Smoke’s desire for Tranquillity stems from the need to be in a secure environment. The tale of Odysseus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Tranquillity.
Quest 2: Remmick mirrors the universal quest for Power
Remmick’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 3: Stack mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Stack’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.
3B. Gaps in the current plot structure
The plot structure under-utilizes the quests for four characters.
Besides this Stack suffers from a storytelling flaw
The world created has a set of principles. One of the principles about people turning into vampires is as follows. After turning into a vampire every character mirror Remmick’s quest for power. But, Stack keeps vacillating between his new and original quest.
In the end credits, there is an abrupt change in Sammie’s quest.
3C. Unlocking the hidden potential
Mythosis Plot structure # 135,404 unlocks the hidden potential of Sinners. It interweaves the tales of Valmiki, Odysseus, Hanuman and Circe.
– This plot structure deepens the quests of Smoke, Stack, Remmick, Mary & Annie.
– Deepening the four quests also improves the interweaving between quests
– The revised plot structure enhances current revenues to $503 – 557MM.
– However, it doesn’t solve for Sammie’s under-developed quest.
Explore Mythosis Plot structure #135,404 to enhance current revenues by 3X!
Tags: Odysseus, Tranquillity, Hanuman, Honour, Circe, Power, Valmiki, Accumulation, Ryan Coogler, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2025