Asteroid City
World-changing events spectacularly disrupt the annual Asteroid Day celebration in an American desert town.
Despite a moderate budget of $25.0M, Asteroid City became a box office success, earning $53.9M worldwide—a 115% return.
4 wins & 86 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Asteroid City (2023) showcases meticulously timed dramatic framework, characteristic of Wes Anderson's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 45 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.7, the film showcases strong structural fundamentals.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Augie Steenbeck
Midge Campbell
The Alien
General Grif Gibson
J.J. Kellogg
Stanley Zak
Woodrow Steenbeck
Dinah Campbell
Dr. Hickenlooper
Sandy Borden
Main Cast & Characters
Augie Steenbeck
Played by Jason Schwartzman
A war photographer and recent widower attending a Junior Stargazer convention with his gifted son.
Midge Campbell
Played by Scarlett Johansson
A famous movie actress also attending the convention, who develops a connection with Augie.
The Alien
Played by Jeff Goldblum
An extraterrestrial visitor who appears at Asteroid City and disrupts the convention.
General Grif Gibson
Played by Jeffrey Wright
A military general who quarantines Asteroid City after the alien encounter.
J.J. Kellogg
Played by Steve Carell
The motel manager of Asteroid City who witnesses the extraordinary events.
Stanley Zak
Played by Tom Hanks
The singing cowboy host of a local television show.
Woodrow Steenbeck
Played by Jake Ryan
Augie's scientifically gifted son attending the Junior Stargazer convention.
Dinah Campbell
Played by Grace Edwards
Midge's daughter, another talented young scientist at the convention.
Dr. Hickenlooper
Played by Tilda Swinton
The scientist organizing and overseeing the Junior Stargazer convention.
Sandy Borden
Played by Maya Hawke
A schoolteacher attending the convention with her star-gazing students.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Black and white television host introduces a play called "Asteroid City," establishing the meta-theatrical frame. War photographer Augie Steenbeck drives through the desert with his four children and deceased wife's ashes.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when An alien appears at the crater, descends, takes the meteorite, and vanishes. This inexplicable event disrupts the convention and locks everyone in quarantine, trapping them in Asteroid City indefinitely.. At 11% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 24 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 23% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to Augie chooses to engage with his grief and the strange reality he's in rather than retreat. He begins a connection with Midge across the space between their cabins, accepting this liminal space where they're trapped., moving from reaction to action.
At 47 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 45% of the runtime—arriving early, accelerating into Act IIb complications. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat The alien returns and communicates, but the moment of contact brings no clarity or answers. False defeat: connection was made but meaning remains elusive. The actor playing Augie breaks down, exits the production, unable to understand his character., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 71 minutes (67% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, The actor playing Augie confronts the playwright (now dead) in a dream sequence. "I still don't understand the play." The response: "Doesn't matter, just keep telling the story." Death of certainty, meaning, and the hope for clear answers., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 76 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 72% of the runtime. Augie returns to the performance. The realization: you don't need to understand everything to move forward. The act of telling the story, of performing, of living, is itself the meaning. Synthesis of grief and acceptance., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Asteroid City's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Asteroid City against these established plot points, we can identify how Wes Anderson utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Asteroid City within the comedy genre.
Wes Anderson's Structural Approach
Among the 12 Wes Anderson films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 6.3, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. Asteroid City represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Wes Anderson filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Bad Guys, Ella Enchanted and The Evening Star. For more Wes Anderson analyses, see The French Dispatch, Moonrise Kingdom and The Phoenician Scheme.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Black and white television host introduces a play called "Asteroid City," establishing the meta-theatrical frame. War photographer Augie Steenbeck drives through the desert with his four children and deceased wife's ashes.
Theme
The Host narrates: "You can't wake up if you don't fall asleep." This encapsulates the film's exploration of grief, disconnection, and the thin line between performance and reality.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to Asteroid City, a fictional desert town in 1955. The Junior Stargazer convention brings together child prodigies and their families. We meet the ensemble cast including Augie, his family, actress Midge Campbell, and others at the isolated desert outpost.
Disruption
An alien appears at the crater, descends, takes the meteorite, and vanishes. This inexplicable event disrupts the convention and locks everyone in quarantine, trapping them in Asteroid City indefinitely.
Resistance
Military quarantine enforced. Characters debate whether what they saw was real. Augie finally tells his children their mother is dead. Behind-the-scenes moments show the actors struggling with their roles, mirroring the characters' struggle with reality.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Augie chooses to engage with his grief and the strange reality he's in rather than retreat. He begins a connection with Midge across the space between their cabins, accepting this liminal space where they're trapped.
Mirror World
Augie and Midge's relationship deepens as they share intimate conversations through windows. She represents emotional availability and presence, contrasting with his detached photographer's perspective. Their connection becomes the thematic heart.
Premise
Life in quarantine: the promise of the premise. Strange routines develop, relationships form, the alien reappears, and the Junior Stargazers continue their projects. The meta-narrative expands showing actors rehearsing and questioning the meaning of the play they're in.
Midpoint
The alien returns and communicates, but the moment of contact brings no clarity or answers. False defeat: connection was made but meaning remains elusive. The actor playing Augie breaks down, exits the production, unable to understand his character.
Opposition
Chaos and dissolution. Quarantine lifts but nothing is resolved. Characters scatter. The meta-narrative fragments further as actors question the play's meaning. Augie faces his inability to process grief. The opposition is existential: meaninglessness itself.
Collapse
The actor playing Augie confronts the playwright (now dead) in a dream sequence. "I still don't understand the play." The response: "Doesn't matter, just keep telling the story." Death of certainty, meaning, and the hope for clear answers.
Crisis
Characters sit with ambiguity and loss. The television frame returns to the empty theater. Actors and characters exist in parallel states of not-knowing. Dark night of accepting that some things—death, contact, meaning—cannot be fully grasped.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Augie returns to the performance. The realization: you don't need to understand everything to move forward. The act of telling the story, of performing, of living, is itself the meaning. Synthesis of grief and acceptance.
Synthesis
The play concludes. Characters complete their arcs not through understanding but through acceptance. The Junior Stargazers present their findings. Families depart Asteroid City. The meta-frame closes as the television production ends, actors taking their bows.
Transformation
Final image mirrors the opening but transformed: the theatrical production ends, the curtain falls, but the questions linger beautifully. We've witnessed a story about accepting mystery. You can't wake up if you don't fall asleep—embracing the dream of narrative itself.