The films that have a protagonist without a dual personality usually have protagonist supporters with whom the audience can have sympathy. This sympathy is then transferred to the protagonist. In E.T. both Elliott and E.T. share the role of the protagonist. This is essential for a story in which the feelings,emotions and thoughts of two characters merge through telepathic communication. This technique helps to explain the success of the film, because merging the two characters into a double protagonist doubles the audience's empathy for the protagonist and increases the audience's concern for the story's outcome.
Some films have more than one protagonist, which expands the scope of audience indentification.
Different segments of the audience can therefore identify with the different protagonists.