In 2018, Amazon and Netflix Inc. reportedly considered acquiring the Landmark Theatres chain. Though both Netflix and Amazon are making more films, many critically acclaimed, they've had trouble distributing them to theaters—which poses a problem for Academy Award eligibility. (The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences requires studio releases be shown in theaters for a certain number of days for eligibility.)

Though Amazon has incentive to enter the movie theater business, analysts are skeptical that it makes business sense to acquire an entire chain.

"I have a hard time believing that they would be considering this unless they thought that the price tag was dirt-cheap," Forte told S&P. "It would have to be gift-wrapped and fall in their lap."

But Amazon might see AMC as that gift. "Exhibitors are trading at discounted multiples, especially after the coronavirus sell-off," reports S&P. "AMC's revenue has ground to a halt amid the theater closures, and the company is straining under a heavy debt load."

The other hitch in the potential deal: There's the 70-year old Paramount Consent Decrees that prevent major movie studios from owning theater chains. However, the Department of Justice has indicated it might lift the restrictions, Jeff Bock, senior analyst at Exhibitor Relations, told S&P. "[The] business might not be capable of surviving without deep-pocket support," Bock said.