Terminator: Dark Fate
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$54 – 60MM V $62MM
Mythosis universal quests used
5
Audience appeal
1.76 – 1.96%
Script Score
0.06
Terminator: Dark Fate is a 2019 movie directed by Tim Miller. Supposed to be a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day, it ends up being a rehash. The story is about a cyborg soldier protecting a girl from a new, highly advanced Terminator!
1. The invisible plot structure of Terminator: Dark Fate
1A. The script of Terminator: Dark Fate borrows 90% of its events from 5 mythological tales
Grace’s quest is driven by the desire for honour & loyalty. The quest borrows events from the tale of Hanuman in Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Grace demonstrate unquestioned loyalty, showing a willingness to sacrifice themselves.
Grace also has an underdeveloped quest driven by the desire to nurture and protect. The quest borrows a few events from the tale of Demeter in Greek mythology.
Rev 9’s quest is driven by the desire to survive a threat. The quest borrows events from the tale of Kans in Hindu mythology. Both Kans & Rev 9 fail to kill their nemesis and pay the price.
Rev 9 also has an underdeveloped quest driven by the desire to punish offenders. The quest borrows a few events from the tale of Duryodhan in Hindu mythology.
T-800’s quest is driven by selfishness. The quest borrows events from the tale of Valmiki in Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & T-800 are self-centred but eventually have a change of heart. and sacrifice their interest.
Dani & Sarah have under developed quests of order 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
# 9,128
Tales interweaved
Hanuman, Kans & 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 Terminator: Dark Fate's plot structure: $54 – 60MM
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 Terminator: Dark Fate
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Dark Fate has 3 universal quests of Preservation, Honour & Accumulation. The quests of Family & Vengeance are sparingly used.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Rev 9 mirrors the universal quest of Preservation & Vengeance. Grace mirrors both Family & Honour. T 800 mirrors the quest of Accumulation.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Rev 9 borrows 37% events from the quest for Preservation & 9% from Vengeance. Grace borrows 13% events from the quest for Family & 19% from Honour. T 800 borrows 12% events from the quest for Accumulation.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Terminator: Dark Fate’s quest interweaving score is 0.83 and is above par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Grace & Rev 9:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Terminator: Dark Fate
The plot is weakened due to the inconsistent character of Grace. Grace’s character quest vacillates between Honour & Family. Rev 9 is the only well-developed character in the plot.
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
0.06
Audience appeal
1.76 – 1.96%
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 Terminator: Dark Fate
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: Rev 9 mirrors the universal quest for Preservation
Rev 9’s desire for Preservation stems from the need to survive a threat. The tale of Kans from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Preservation.
Quest 2: Grace mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Grace’s desire for Honour stems from the need to be loyal to a clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 3: T 800 mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
T 800’ 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.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
Except for Rev9, other characters have shallow and/or inconsistent quests.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of Terminator: Dark Fate is a subset of plot structure # 9,128. It emerges from interweaves the tales of Hanuman, Kans & Valmiki.
Contact us for Mythosis plot structure # 9,128
Tags: Kans, Valmiki, Hanuman, Demeter, Preservation, Accumulation, Honour, Family, Tim Miller, Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, 20th Century Fox, Lightstorm Entertainment, Tencent Pictures, TSG Entertainment, 2019