Everything Everywhere All at Once
A middle-aged Chinese immigrant is swept up into an insane adventure in which she alone can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led.
Despite a mid-range budget of $25.0M, Everything Everywhere All at Once became a box office success, earning $139.2M worldwide—a 457% return.
7 Oscars. 397 wins & 379 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%)
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) demonstrates strategically placed plot construction, characteristic of The Daniels's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 11-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 19 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.2, the film takes an unconventional approach to traditional narrative frameworks.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Evelyn Wang's chaotic life: overwhelmed by taxes, laundromat duties, disappointed father, and disconnected from daughter Joy. She can barely manage her mundane existence.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 14 minutes when In the IRS elevator, Waymond's body is taken over by Alpha-Waymond from another universe, who tells Evelyn that she is needed to save the multiverse from Jobu Tupaki. Reality fractures.. At 10% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
At 63 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 45% of the runtime—arriving early, accelerating into Act IIb complications. Significantly, this crucial beat Jobu Tupaki reveals the Everything Bagel - a black hole of everything that represents total nihilism. She shows Evelyn that nothing matters across infinite universes. False defeat: Evelyn seems to gain understanding but is actually being pulled toward despair. Stakes raised: it's not just saving the multiverse, it's saving her daughter from meaninglessness., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 93 minutes (67% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Evelyn, fully consumed by nihilism, tells Joy "You're right. Nothing matters." Waymond (base universe) gives up, his optimistic heart finally broken. The "death" - the death of hope, kindness, and Waymond's spirit, which has been the story's light., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Synthesis at 100 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 72% of the runtime. Evelyn uses verse-jumping not to fight but to give people what they need across universes - healing everyone with specific acts of kindness. She pursues Joy through universes, finally reaching her in the rock universe where they communicate through silence, and Evelyn tells her she will always choose to be with her, even in a meaningless universe., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Everything Everywhere All at Once's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 11 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping Everything Everywhere All at Once against these established plot points, we can identify how The Daniels utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Everything Everywhere All at Once within the action genre.
The Daniels's Structural Approach
Among the 2 The Daniels films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 5.5, showcasing experimental approaches to narrative form. Everything Everywhere All at Once represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete The Daniels filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional action films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid. For more The Daniels analyses, see Swiss Army Man.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Evelyn Wang's chaotic life: overwhelmed by taxes, laundromat duties, disappointed father, and disconnected from daughter Joy. She can barely manage her mundane existence.
Theme
Waymond tells Evelyn, "So even though you have broken my heart yet again, I wanted to say, in another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you." The theme: finding joy in small moments and choosing kindness.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of Evelyn's struggling world: failing laundromat business, IRS audit with Deirdre, strained marriage with Waymond (who has divorce papers), cultural clash with father Gong Gong, and alienation from daughter Joy and her girlfriend Becky.
Disruption
In the IRS elevator, Waymond's body is taken over by Alpha-Waymond from another universe, who tells Evelyn that she is needed to save the multiverse from Jobu Tupaki. Reality fractures.
Resistance
Alpha-Waymond explains verse-jumping, the multiverse, and Jobu Tupaki. Evelyn resists, doubts, and struggles to understand. She learns to access alternate universe skills. The IRS office becomes a battleground as Evelyn debates whether to accept this insane reality.
Act II
ConfrontationPremise
The "promise of the premise" - wild multiverse adventures. Evelyn jumps between universes (rock universe, hot dog fingers, piñata, chef, etc.), fights opponents, and discovers Jobu Tupaki is actually her daughter Joy from the Alpha universe, driven to nihilism by seeing all universes at once.
Midpoint
Jobu Tupaki reveals the Everything Bagel - a black hole of everything that represents total nihilism. She shows Evelyn that nothing matters across infinite universes. False defeat: Evelyn seems to gain understanding but is actually being pulled toward despair. Stakes raised: it's not just saving the multiverse, it's saving her daughter from meaninglessness.
Opposition
Evelyn begins verse-jumping chaotically, becoming like Jobu - experiencing everything, fighting everyone. She grows cruel and nihilistic, hurting people across universes. Alpha-Waymond and others try to stop her. Her family relationships deteriorate further as she loses herself in infinite possibilities.
Collapse
Evelyn, fully consumed by nihilism, tells Joy "You're right. Nothing matters." Waymond (base universe) gives up, his optimistic heart finally broken. The "death" - the death of hope, kindness, and Waymond's spirit, which has been the story's light.
Crisis
Evelyn sits in darkness with the weight of infinite meaninglessness. She witnesses Waymond's speech about kindness being strategic, not weak. She processes that in infinite universes of possibility, she still chooses to hurt people. Dark night of contemplating the void.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
Evelyn uses verse-jumping not to fight but to give people what they need across universes - healing everyone with specific acts of kindness. She pursues Joy through universes, finally reaching her in the rock universe where they communicate through silence, and Evelyn tells her she will always choose to be with her, even in a meaningless universe.