Thunderbolts
Fails to set-up the new avengers
ESTIMATED domestic box office revenue
$148 – 204MM
Mythosis universal quests used
4
Audience appeal
3.86 – 4.72%
Hidden potential
$599 – 662MM
Directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts released in May 2025. The film introduces a set of psychologically scarred individuals. They band together out of necessity to face a greater threat. Finally, emerge victorious and get declared as the new avengers!
The story of Thunderbolts is a convoluted introduction of the new avengers. It dips into the fear, block, wound, limitations of a few characters. But doesn’t explore their masks or coping mechanisms. Moreover, the path these characters take are incongruous with their scars.
1. The invisible plot structure of Thunderbolts
1A. The script of Thunderbolts borrows 90% of its events from 4 mythological tales
The desire for order drives Yelena’s quest. The quest borrows events from the tale of Ram from Hindu mythology. Both Ram & Yelena with the help of allies apprehend an abductor and free their loved ones.
Selfishness drives Bob’s quest. The quest borrows events from the tale of Valmiki in Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Bob are self-centred but eventually have a change of heart.
The desire for honour drives Bucky’s underdeveloped quest. The quest borrows events from the tale of Hanuman in Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Bucky become loyal allies of those that they initially suspected.
The desire to dominate others drives Valentina’s underdeveloped quest. The quest mirrors the tale of Circe from Greek mythology. Both Circe and Valentina create a façade of godliness and treachery to seize control.
The desire of idealism drives Mel’s shallow quest. The quest borrows few events from the tale of Prometheus in Greek mythology. Both Prometheus & Mel switch over to the righteous side.
None of the other characters have a quest.
Mythosis plot structure
#528,519
Tales interweaved
Circe, Ram, Valmiki & Hanuman
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 Thunderbolts' plot structure: $148–204MM
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 Thunderbolts
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Thunderbolts uses 2 universal quests of Order & Accumulation. The quests of Power & Honour are sparingly used.
- In Blockbusters, every character mirrors ONLY ONE universal quest. Yelena mirrors the quest of Order whereas Bob mirrors Accumulation.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Yelena borrows 23% events from the quest of Order. Bob borrows 19% events from Accumulation.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Thunderbolts’ quest interweaving score of 0.50 is at par.
For instance, an example of interweaving the quests of Valentina & Bob:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Thunderbolts
The script of Thunderbolts stands out for a unique concept. Bob getting consumed by his own projection, The Void. This made the task of the team to recover him, harder.
However, the Thunderbolts’ quest kicks off about two-thirds into the film. Additionally, Yelena’s quest undermines the effort put into building her psychological scar.
- The universal quest of Order portrays Ram’s triumph over personal trauma. His failure to act led to chaos, leaving a kingdom without its ruler. Conquering his inner struggles became synonymous with restoring balance. He reorganized society and its broken systems. By contrast, Yelena’s psychological scar and her journey lack that same cohesion.
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
0.13
Audience appeal
3.86% – 4.72%
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 Thunderbolts
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. Gaps in the current plot structure
The weakness of the plot structure lies in under-utilizing the quests of Yelena & Bob.
Besides, Yelena’s quest is incompatible with her psychological scar.
3B. Unlocking the hidden potential
The hidden potential of Thunderbolts is unlocked by Mythosis Plot structure # 528,519 that interweaves the tales of Circe, Ram, Valmiki and Hanuman.
- This plot structure deepens the quests of Yelena, Bob and the other Thunderbolts
- Deepening the three quests of Ram, Valmiki & Hanuman also improves the interweaving between quests
- The revised plot structure enhances current revenues to $599 – 662MM.
Explore Mythosis Plot structure #528,519 to enhance current revenues by 3.5X!
Tags: Ram, Order, Hanuman, Honour, Circe, Power, Valmiki, Accumulation, Jake Schreier, Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2025