Wish Upon
A teen girl discovers a magical box that will grant her seven wishes. As she uses her wishes for personal gain, bad things begin to happen to those around her. She discovers an evil entity lives inside the box and may be behind the gruesome deaths.
Working with a tight budget of $12.0M, the film achieved a steady performer with $14.3M in global revenue (+19% profit margin).
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%)
Wish Upon (2017) exemplifies strategically placed plot construction, characteristic of John R. Leonetti's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 31 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.7, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Young Clare discovers her mother's body after suicide, establishing the trauma that defines her life and sets up her desperate desire for a better existence.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 11 minutes when Clare's father gives her an ancient Chinese music box he found while dumpster diving, with an inscription promising to grant seven wishes.. At 12% 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 22 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Clare makes a deliberate second wish for her crush Ryan to fall madly in love with her, actively choosing to use the box's power despite her uncertainty about the first wish's coincidence., moving from reaction to action.
At 44 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 49% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Notably, this crucial beat Clare discovers the box's true nature when her friend Ryan's cousin translates the inscription revealing that each wish demands a blood sacrifice, and she realizes her wishes have been killing people she knows., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 66 minutes (73% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Clare's best friend June is killed by the box's curse, forcing Clare to finally accept that her selfish wishes have destroyed everyone she truly cared about., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 73 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Clare discovers a potential loophole: if she uses her final wish to undo everything before the box can claim her soul, she might save herself and reverse all the deaths., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Wish Upon's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping Wish Upon against these established plot points, we can identify how John R. Leonetti utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Wish Upon within the drama genre.
John R. Leonetti's Structural Approach
Among the 3 John R. Leonetti films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Wish Upon takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete John R. Leonetti filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include After Thomas, South Pacific and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. For more John R. Leonetti analyses, see Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Annabelle.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Young Clare discovers her mother's body after suicide, establishing the trauma that defines her life and sets up her desperate desire for a better existence.
Theme
Clare's friend Meredith warns her that wanting things too badly can be dangerous, foreshadowing the corrupting nature of getting everything you wish for.
Worldbuilding
Clare's difficult life is established: her father Jonathan dumpster dives for a living causing her embarrassment, she's bullied by popular girl Darcie, and she struggles socially while living in a rundown house with painful memories.
Disruption
Clare's father gives her an ancient Chinese music box he found while dumpster diving, with an inscription promising to grant seven wishes.
Resistance
Clare skeptically makes her first wish for bully Darcie to "just rot," then is shocked when Darcie contracts a flesh-eating disease. Her neighbor's dog mysteriously dies, but Clare doesn't connect the events yet.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Clare makes a deliberate second wish for her crush Ryan to fall madly in love with her, actively choosing to use the box's power despite her uncertainty about the first wish's coincidence.
Mirror World
Clare's friends June and Meredith become increasingly concerned about her changing behavior and obsession with the music box, representing the normal moral compass she's abandoning.
Premise
Clare indulges in wish fulfillment: she wishes for popularity, inherits wealth from a relative, and gets everything she ever wanted. Meanwhile, people around her die in gruesome "accidents" as blood price for each wish.
Midpoint
Clare discovers the box's true nature when her friend Ryan's cousin translates the inscription revealing that each wish demands a blood sacrifice, and she realizes her wishes have been killing people she knows.
Opposition
Clare struggles between keeping her new life and stopping the deaths. She makes more wishes despite knowing the cost, as the box claims more victims including her friend Meredith who dies in a freak elevator accident.
Collapse
Clare's best friend June is killed by the box's curse, forcing Clare to finally accept that her selfish wishes have destroyed everyone she truly cared about.
Crisis
Clare learns the ultimate truth: after seven wishes, the box claims the wisher's soul. She has used six wishes and realizes she will die if she makes another, yet cannot undo what she's done.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Clare discovers a potential loophole: if she uses her final wish to undo everything before the box can claim her soul, she might save herself and reverse all the deaths.
Synthesis
Clare attempts to destroy the box and break the curse. She races against time as her father becomes the next target, and she must decide whether to make the final wish or find another way to end the nightmare.
Transformation
Clare is killed when she's hit by a car, her seventh wish having been made inadvertently. The box survives and is picked up by someone new, showing the cycle of corruption and death will continue.