Six Examples of the Inciting Incident (Catalyst) in Films
The Inciting Incident—also called the Catalyst—is the moment in a screenplay when we realize: Something is actually going to happen here.
It’s the first rupture in the routine, the out-of-the-ordinary event that causes the story to veer off course.
This is not the Act II turn, which often involves a clear decision on the part of the protagonist and definitely involves a full-blown commitment to a new world. The inciting incident, however, is our first indication that the normal world set up in the Setup (yes) is starting to crack.
The Inciting Incident tells us to pay attention: this is no longer the status quo.
Here we’ll look at six clear examples of the Inciting Incident in cinema and discuss how they fit into the picture at large. With each, you’ll find an exercise to apply the principle in your own writing.
1. Back to the Future (1985)
Inciting Incident: Doc Brown invites Marty to the Twin Pines Mall
For the first 15 minutes of Back to the Future, we’re in Marty McFly’s familiar world: school, skateboarding, auditions, and his weird older friend. Then Doc invites him to the mall. This scene, which takes place around minute 18, is our true catalyst.
Note that this is a bit late for a modern film–contests would say “no”–but it’s fucking Back to the Future so no would dare cross it. You’ll notice that there’s a long Setup in this film and a very compressed section between the Inciting Incident and the beginning of Act II (the terrorists, the gunfight, etc.).
Doc’s simple call to action (“Meet me at 1:15 a.m.”) tells us that the familiar has been disrupted.
What comes next is a public demonstration of the DeLorean, Libyan terrorists, and Doc’s apparent death. But without this incident, the story doesn’t ignite.
The takeaway: the catalyst can be fairly quiet. It’s not the moment the world explodes; it’s the moment someone opens a door and says, “Follow me.”
Writing Exercise:
Write a 1-page scene where a curious figure (often, but not necessarily, a mentor) asks your protagonist to meet them at an unusual time or place.*
Perhaps this feels innocent at the beginning. But show how, by the end of the scene, something has subtly shifted—stakes have begun to rise.
Think Spike invites Will to Fabric in Notting Hill.
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Inciting Incident: Army Intelligence speaks to Indy at the university
After the cold-open in South America, we return to Indiana Jones’s “normal life”: teaching archaeology. It’s only when Army Intelligence shows up in his office to ask about the Ark of the Covenant that the real story begins.
Notice: Indy doesn’t even agree to take on the mission yet. That comes later. The point is that someone has brought new information that threatens the old world.
Now, the status quo is disrupted. This is the first we hear of religious mythology, Nazi occultism, and ancient relics.
This moment plants the seed of a bigger story, one that makes the hero’s day job look like a footnote.
The takeaway: You don’t need the hero to do anything yet. This is a piece of information or opportunity that re-frames everything.
Writing Exercise:
Write a dialogue scene where your protagonist is interrupted at work by two strangers with an offer or question that completely derails her normal agenda.
Assume the protagonist doesn’t take them seriously. Or at least not yet…
3. Ghostbusters (1984)
Inciting Incident: The team gets fired from Columbia
Frame the ghost in the library as a cold open.
It’s strange and gives us a taste of the film’s horror aspect, but it’s not changing anyone’s life. For the moment, the the Venkman, Stantz, and Spengler are satisfied with their cushy academic roles: coeds, electric shocks, and Zenner cards, oh my.
The true disruption comes when the boys are kicked out of academia. This inciting incident is funny, but it also gives us a feel for how the “real world” thinks of their work.
The film doesn’t shy away from its core criticism that bureaucracy is to slow–or willfully blind–to catch up with something (say, a full-bodied apparition) that is right in front of its face.
In any case, now the boys have to reconsider their place in the world. It is the first among several escalating points of no return in Aykroyd and Ramis’ masterful script.
Before we had a script about scientific curiosity, and this one starts being about survival: pro-business, Reagan-era hustle. One that just happens to involve capturing ghosts for a living. (And to think, they managed even before social media existed!)
It’s time for them to go all in.
This Inciting Incident works because it eliminates the path back. It is clear that they are forever blacklisted from academia. Shit gonna change.
The takeaway: Sometimes, a moment of defeat kicks everything off.
Writing Exercise:
Write a scene where your protagonist gets fired, demoted, or kicked out of a group. Let them laugh it off, shrug, or get existential with cheap scotch on the library steps—then show how it alters everything. Even better if it’s funny.
4. The Straight Story (1999)
Inciting Incident: Alvin learns of his brother’s stroke
Alvin, a stubborn old man, learns that his estranged brother has suffered a stroke. That’s it.
But for Alvin, this isn’t just family news—it’s a revelation that demands a response. The world hasn’t exploded. No ghosts. No gunshots. But a fracture has opened up in his emotional life. Alvin and his brother are long-estranged, and Alvin understands that neither has long left. Learning of his brother’s frailty gives Alvin the desire to reconnect. This piece of news becomes an emotional revelation.
🔍 The takeaway: In a slow, character-driven story, a simple piece of information can be enough to change someone’s life dramatically.
Writing Exercise:
Write a scene where your protagonist hears that someone from their past is sick or in trouble.
Avoid exposition about why this person is no longer in your character’s life, but make it clear that this information has solidified a decision for your character.
Let emotion simmer.
5. North by Northwest (1959)
Inciting Incident: Roger Thornhill is kidnapped
Here we get an inciting incident almost immediately. Roger Thornhill raises his hand at the wrong time and is mistaken for someone named Kaplan. He’s kidnapped and interrogated—within 15 minutes.
This is an early and aggressive catalyst. It doesn’t just break the status quo—it blows it up. Hitchcock wastes no time because the rest of the story is long enough as is.
Hitchcock’s masterful hand shows us how normal everything felt immediately before, even though it’s only a couple of moments. Roger is sipping cocktails. Dealing with his domineering mother. Then he’s abducted. The tonal shift rapid, but doesn’t feel cheap.
The takeaway: Sometimes, a forced mistake makes for an excellent Inciting Incident.
Someone’s situation is upended by accident and they need to clamber their way out–only to have Act II double down on the original problem.
Writing Exercise:
Write a scene where your protagonist is mistaken for someone else–at this point, she is confronted or interrogated (or abducted like Roger).
Make sure the audience, like the character, feels disorientation from this.
6. Petite Maman (2021)
Inciting Incident: Arrival at the grandmother’s house
The Inciting Incident is precise: Nelly arrives at her grandmother’s home after her grandmother’s death, and is put to bed in her mother’s childhood room.
The location, the timing, and the emotional state of the characters signal something big: a transition is coming. For Nelly, this is a space charged with past and future—what will soon collide for her.
The film’s magic is that it is essentially a science fiction (or speculative fiction) film. Living in her mother’s bed, however–in some sense becoming her own young mother–lights a fuse for her.
The takeaway: An Inciting Incident doesn’t have to announce itself loudly.
When a change of setting triggers memory or mystery, this can itself act as Inciting Incident.
Writing Exercise:
Your protagonist enters a family home they haven’t visited in years.
No narration. Minimal dialogue.
Let the tone do the work. Make the audience feel the door opening to something larger.
Bonus: Fight Club (1999)
Inciting Incident: The Narrator (Jack) meets Marla Singer
Curiously, many people insist that meeting Tyler Durden is the inciting incident.
As far as I’m concerned, this is rather demonstrably not the case. Tyler only comes after a very long setup, and meeting Tyler really doesn’t disrupt the Narrator’s life. Rather, Tyler fits into a hole that has already been blown open.
Notably, Jack chooses to call Tyler later. It doesn’t just happen.
Marla, however, is walking disruption.
Marla’s appearance at the support groups exposes Jack’s lie (particularly given that it’s one for testicular cancer).
Suddenly, his lifeline–the support groups–no longer work and his insomnia floods back. Jack’s day-to-day is broken. Because this random person walked in from nowhere.
Marla incited this. This moment, like any true Inciting Incident, demands a reaction.
The takeaway: A true Inciting Incident breaks the illusion of normal life.
Whether or not the hero takes action yet, the world has shifted in meaning.
Writing Exercise:
Your protagonist encounters a “mirror version” of themselves–someone who plays by the same rules but shows your protagonist to be corrupt.
Makes her feel exposed.
Now, make the audience feel the same discomfort and perverse fascination with this character.
Why It’s Called an “Incident”
When a film fails to hook us, it’s often because nothing happens.
Remember, the inciting incident must be an actual incident. It must:
- Disrupt the status quo
- Shift the trajectory
- Raise a question or possibility
- Be noticeable and undeniable
In complex stories, there may be multiple candidates for what this is (Marla or Tyler?). Regardless, the story gets moving with a crack in the status quo.
If your script doesn’t have a clear inciting incident, ask:
When does something first happen–without the protagonist’s consent–that it is difficult (if not impossible) to return from? Answer this and your story will be off to a solid start.