London, May 12 (IANS: Struggling movie theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings saw its stock zooming over 40 per cent on Monday after a media report claimed that Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon is in talks to acquire it.

Daily Mail reported, citing sources, that AMC Entertainment Holdings and the e-commerce giant Amazon, also the parent of Amazon Studios, have previously held talks.

AMC is the parent of the AMC and Carmike theatre chains in the US and the Odeon Cinemas chain in the UK.

AMC has been struggling since the COVID-19 pandemic led to shutdowns of movie theatres across the globe.

"A deal would mark a pivotal moment in the history of the film industry and would give the streaming giants an even tighter grip on Hollywood," said the report.

AMC is reportedly on the verge of bankruptcy, giving Amazon the opportunity to snap it up on the cheap.

"Amazon is understood to have held talks about running the National Lottery in recent months and is said to be eyeing a takeover of satellite company OneWeb, the British firm backed by Sir Richard Branson, which filed for bankruptcy in March in the US," the report added.

AMC which has about 10,000 screens around the world is now vauled at just $420million.

Last month, AMC announced it would no longer screen films made by Universal Pictures, one of the largest studios in Hollywood and behind new Bond film ‘No Time To Die'.

Amazon declined to comment on its interest in AMC. AMC also did not comment on the report.