Cinema worker 'collapses due to extreme stress and fatigue' from 'Avengers: Endgame' demand

A cinema worker says he suffered “extreme stress and fatigue” because of the overwhelming demand to see Avengers: Endgame.

Thomas Broome-Jones posted a tweet thread detailing his stressful experience while fulfilling his duties at a “leading UK cinema chain” during the Marvel movie’s opening weekend.

“Over the weekend, the demand for Avengers: Endgame tickets has vastly smashed any and all expectations,” Broome-Jones writes. “My site has been overcrowded and understaffed.

Read more: What Endgame’s ending means for the MCU’s future

“Today, I was expected to clean up after 300 people in ten minutes, alone. This is not physically possible. Over the course of the weekend, I’ve had to push my body through physical torment in order to properly perform my job,” he continues.

“This includes lifting hundreds of full bin bags that were so heavy, most of my colleagues we unable to lift them. I’m 6’2 and 210 lbs, and I could barely lift them myself. I’m also having to regularly sprint to get around so I have enough time to effectively do my job.

“Yesterday, I verbally lashed out at a colleague for doing nothing wrong. I apologised immediately, before realising that the stress had fully got to me,” Broome-Jones added.

The cinema worker says that he will no longer be taking shifts at the cinema chain out of fear of suffering a nervous breakdown.

“I have a history of mental illness and suffered a nervous breakdown 7 years ago,” he explained. “Had I continued in my current role at my place of employment, I have to imagine another one wouldn’t have been far off.”

Read more: Who is dead or alive ahead of Endgame?

“I’m now seeking new employment with a company that will not work me until the point of collapse,” Broome-Jones added. “I will also be attempting to make a claim for compensation for the undue stress and physical demand that has befallen me.”

Many people have taken to social media to ask cinema-goers to show kindness and respect to workers at their local cinemas, as well as workers themselves.

Speaking to Yahoo Movies UK, Broome-Jones says the struggle to secure enough workers to cover the increased footfall at cinemas comes from a lack of foresight by the head office.

“The issue is head office slashing the hours available for distribution,” he explains. “Making improvements would involve allocating hours more realistically when looking at mega blockbusters such as Endgame.

“My email inbox is full of emails from my managers begging people to come in on their day off because not enough staff were put on.”

Over the last few years, there has been an increased focus on the treatment of cinema workers as well as securing them a living wage.

Media and entertainment union BECTU launched the Living Staff Living Wage campaign in 2014 in order to secure better pay and benefits for workers at Picturehouse cinemas and Brixton’s The Ritzy.

Last year, workers conducted a strike at Picturehouse Central during the Sundance London Film Festival following two years of unsuccessful negotiations with the formerly independent chain, now owned by Cineworld, over pay.

Avengers: Endgame has already earned over $1 billion in global ticket sales from its first five days in cinemas and is set to beat the gross box office for Avatar and Gone With The Wind (when adjusted for inflation).

Avengers: Endgame is cinemas now