The Monkey
Osgood Perkins adds depth to Stephen King's story
ESTIMATED domestic box office revenue
$32 – 51MM
Mythosis universal quests used
4
Audience appeal
0.86% – 1.06%
Hidden potential
$276 – 305MM
Though “The Monkey” is based on Stephen King’s short story, director & writer Osgood Perkins elevates the story by weaving in the theme of sibling rivalry, adding a new layer of complexity. King’s story focuses on the pursuit of tranquillity, a singular driving force for the character. In contrast, Perkins’ adaptation goes beyond by intertwining the desire for vengeance thereby creating a more nuanced and multifaceted storyline.
1. The Monkey's invisible plot structure
1A. Script of The Monkey borrows 93% of its events from 4 mythological tales
Hal’s quest is driven by the desire to be in a safe environment. The quest borrows events from the tale of Odysseus in Greek mythology. Both Odysseus and Hal navigate their way through hostile territory.
Bill’s quest is driven by the desire to punish offenders. The quest borrows events from the tale of Duryodhan in Hindu mythology. Both Duryodhan & Bill devise ways to punish their kin for wronging them.
Bill’s quest also borrows events from the tale of Valmiki in Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Ross are self-centred but eventually have a change of heart.
Petey’s underdeveloped quest borrows a few events from Psyche’s tale in Greek mythology. Both Psyche and Petey mistrust the “monster” but later accept them.
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
# 27,989
Tales interweaved
Odysseus, Duryodhan & Psyche
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 The Monkey's plot structure: $32-51MM
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 The Monkey
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. The Monkey uses 2 universal quests of Vengeance & Tranquillity. The quests of Accumulation & Social contact are sparingly used.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Hal mirrors the universal quest of Tranquillity. Bill mirrors the quest of Vengeance & Accumulation.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Hal borrows 32% events from the quest of Tranquillity. Bill borrows 20% events from the quest of Vengeance & 6% from Accumulation.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. The Monkey’s quest interweaving score of 0.33 is below par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Hal & Bill:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of The Monkey
The script has an almost well-developed quest for Hal, an inconsistent quest for Bill and an under developed quest for Petey. Not borrowing enough events from each quest has created gaps in the 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
0.03
Audience appeal
0.86% – 1.06%
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. Ideal plot structure of The Monkey
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: Hal mirrors the universal quest for Tranquillity
Hal’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: Bill mirrors the universal quest for Vengeance
Bill’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
The Monkey’s plot structure has an inconsistent quest & an under developed quest for a character with substantial screen time.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The script of The Monkey is a subset of Mythosis Plot structure # 27,989. It interweaves the tales of Odysseus, Duryodhan & Psyche.
This plot structure reveals a set of events to deepen the quest of each character and interweave them into a cohesive story.
The plot structure can generate domestic revenues of $276 – 305MM!
Explore Mythosis Plot structure #27,989 to enhance current revenues by 7X!
Tags: Odysseus, Tranquillity, Duryodhan, Vengeance, Osgood Perkins, Neon, 2025