The year 2022 was a remarkable one for the film industry, with two major trends taking the world by storm: the popularity of the Barbie and Oppenheimer films. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, theaters and movie businesses made a comeback, and actors resumed their work following a strike. While the Barbenheimer trend seemed to overshadow many other releases, there were still exceptional films from various genres that graced the big screens. However, it came as a surprise when Cillian Murphy, the star of Oppenheimer, did not mention Margot Robbie's Barbie as one of his top choices.

In an interview with ExtraTV, Irish actor Cillian Murphy shared his thoughts on the standout films of the previous year.

Alongside Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, he praised Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things and Alexander Payne's The Holdovers. Despite the buzz around Margot Robbie's Barbie and its competition with Murphy's biopic, he failed to include the film in his list of favorites. This was surprising, considering he had expressed interest in starring in a possible sequel to Barbie. In an interview with Omeleteve, Murphy even stated, "Would I play a Ken in 'Barbie 2'? Sure, yeah. Let's read the script, let's have a conversation."

During a conversation with Robbie for Variety's Actors on Actors series, Murphy discussed the success of Barbie and Oppenheimer, attributing it not only to the fan hype but also to the quality of the projects. He mentioned that the summer of 2022 offered a diverse range of films and that Barbie and Oppenheimer's connection with audiences was unexpected.

It is disappointing that Murphy did not mention Barbie as one of his top films of 2022, especially since he had previously expressed his enthusiasm for the project. In an interview with IGN, he praised Greta Gerwig's Barbie and expressed his excitement about its release date coinciding with Oppenheimer's.

Fans were left puzzled as to why he omitted Barbie from his list, leading to speculation that it may have been a marketing tactic or simply a slip of the mind during the interview. Regardless, Murphy's previous comments about the film still stand as a testament to his support and admiration for Barbie.