Screenplay Structure Analysis

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Written by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert · Science Fiction Action Comedy Drama · 126 pages · 157 scenes · 3-act natural structure · non-linear organization

A middle-aged Chinese immigrant woman struggling with her laundromat business and family relationships discovers she must connect with parallel universe versions of herself to stop an omniversal threat—her own daughter.

Tone
Chaotic, absurdist, emotionally raw, kinetic, genre-blending—oscillates between frenetic multiverse action and intimate family drama

Tension curve

Dramatic intensity across Everything Everywhere All At Once from first page to last, sampled at 40 points on a 0–10 scale. Values: 3, 3.5, 3.9, 4.2, 4.9, 5.5, 6, 6.1, 6.5, 7, 7.1, 7, 6.9, 7.1, 7.3, 6.7, 6.5, 6.5, 7, 6.8, 6.6, 6.7, 6.7, 6.9, 7.4, 7.9, 7.6, 7.2, 7.2, 7.7, 7.1, 7.1, 7, 7.3, 7.1, 7.3, 7.4, 7.2, 6.5, 6.1.

Structure at a glance

Inciting incident
Page 17, 14% of the script: Waymond's head snaps forward in the elevator; he covers the security camera with an umbrella, puts bluetooth earpieces in Evelyn's ears, tells her she's in grave danger, instructs her not to go into the janitor's closet, then pulls out divorce papers and asks her to sign them.
Act 1 break
Page 28, 22% of the script: Evelyn fully enters the multiverse conflict when she witnesses Jobu Tupaki's power in the closet universe and Alpha Waymond explains the stakes.
Midpoint
Page 60, 48% of the script: Alpha Waymond tries to wake up in the IRS building and warns not to engage with Jobu because she can't be reasoned with.
Act 2 break
Page 78, 62% of the script: Evelyn reaches peak nihilism in the Rock Universe, accepting meaninglessness before choosing to fight for connection instead of oblivion.
Climax
Page 105, 83% of the script: Evelyn tells Waymond it's too late, but he insists she not say that; she looks at her bleeding husband as romantic music begins to play, then turns away from the Bagel and hugs Waymond hard.
Peak tension
7.9 out of 10, reached about 64% of the way through; the script averages 6.5.
Average scene length
1.2 pages

Structural personality

This script operates as a controlled explosion. Act 1 establishes Evelyn's mundane chaos—tax audit, family tensions, laundromat struggles—then detonates into multiverse madness around scene 14-17 when Alpha Waymond hijacks the elevator. The structure is deliberately fragmented: scenes splinter into split-screens, universes bleed into each other, and the protagonist's consciousness fractures across realities. This isn't traditional three-act so much as a spiral—Evelyn keeps circling the same emotional wounds (her disappointment in Joy, her failed dreams, her crumbling marriage) while the external reality becomes increasingly unhinged. The second act is a sustained crescendo of absurdist action and existential despair, climaxing in the Rock Universe conversation (scene 94) where the script strips away all spectacle to confront pure meaninglessness. The final act inverts the chaos: instead of learning to fight across universes, Evelyn learns to heal across them, turning her multiverse-jumping ability into radical empathy. The structure mirrors its theme—life is overwhelming, fractured, and absurd, but connection is the only response that matters.

Pacing

The pacing is relentless and intentionally exhausting. The first 13 scenes establish domestic chaos in rapid cuts before the elevator hijacking (scene 14) launches the multiverse premise. From scenes 16-87, the script maintains breakneck momentum through split-screens, universe-hopping, and escalating action set pieces (the IRS fight sequences from scenes 27-87 are essentially one extended, reality-bending chase). The script deliberately overwhelms the audience to mirror Evelyn's experience. Scene 94 (Rock Universe) provides the only true pause—a philosophical breather before the emotional climax. The final 30 scenes shift from frenetic action to emotional resolution, slowing down to let character moments breathe while maintaining multiverse spectacle.

Themes

Similar shapes

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Scene summaries and structural markers are generated by AI analysis of the screenplay text and may contain minor inaccuracies. ScriptGraph analyzes structure and does not reproduce screenplay text.

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