Fox Studio Chief Stacey Snider Advocates for Shorter Theatrical Windows

"It's not about smashing the window. Maybe it's about opening it up a little," Snider said Tuesday.

Streaming giant Netflix has changed the way movies get released, bringing them directly to consumer's homes without a theatrical release. But while 21st Century Fox CEO Stacey Snider might see the value in shortening theatrical distribution windows, she's not advocating for them to go away entirely.

"It's not about smashing the window. Maybe it's about opening it up a little," she said Tuesday evening at the Code Media conference in Laguna Beach, Calif. "I don't think it's controversial to say that for a business to not be able to sell what it makes for periods of time is anachronistic."

But Snider, who is prepping the launch of Logan next month for the studio, said that a theatrical experience is something that should be preserved. She described the movie business as one that creates "huge, global, big, beautiful cinematic experiences," adding, "the last thing we want to do is commoditize it and make it feel like it's interchangeable with the home entertainment experience."

Fox-distributed Hidden Figures, which has been successful at the box office and is nominated for three Academy Awards, including best picture. On the surprise success of the film, about the female African-American mathematicians at NASA during the space race, Snider said, "It was a lovely surprise. We all knew that it was an incredible story."

Snider also touched on the role of the studio to make projects that appeal to a broad audience. "It's our obligation, if you're going to be involved in culture, to be inclusive and not to make people feel excluded," she said.