Margot Robbie Tells Cillian Murphy an “Oppenheimer ”Producer Asked Her to Change “Barbie ”Release Date: 'We're Not Moving'

"If you’re scared to be up against us, then you move your date," Margot Robbie recalled telling one 'Oppenheimer' producer

Margot Robbie was firm on Barbie's release date, regardless of what the Oppenheimer team had in mind.

In a conversation with Oppenheimer actor Cillian Murphy for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series published Tuesday, the two discussed the phenomenon of their films, which were released on the same day this summer.

In the weeks leading up to the movies' shared July 21 release date, the internet coined the term "Barbenheimer" to label a viral trend challenging fans to see both the Greta Gerwig–directed Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer back to back.

"One of your producers, Chuck Roven, called me, because we worked together on some other projects. And he was like, 'I think you guys should move your date,' " Robbie, 33, who also co-produced Barbie, told Murphy, 47. "And I was like, 'We’re not moving our date. If you’re scared to be up against us, then you move your date.' "

"And he’s like, 'We’re not moving our date. I just think it’d be better for you to move,' " she recalled. "And I was like, 'We’re not moving!' "

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Related: Barbenheimer! PEOPLE Staffers Recap Their 5-Hour 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' Moviegoing Experiences

Robbie went on to say she thought the two films made the "perfect double billing," with Murphy praising her "good instinct."

"Clearly the world agreed. Thank God," the Oscar-nominated actress said. "The fact that people were going and being like, 'Oh, watch Oppenheimer first, then Barbie.' I was like, 'See? People like everything.' People are weird."

"And they don’t like being told what to do. They will decide, and they will generate the interest themselves," Murphy added.

"I think they were also really excited by the filmmakers," Robbie said. "People were itching for the next Chris Nolan film and itching for the next Greta Gerwig film. To get them at the same time was exciting."

Related: A Barbenheimer Spoof Movie Is in the Works from Puppet Master Producer: 'A Crazy, Candy-Colored Romp'

Robbie and Murphy have been open about their support for one another's films. Oppenheimer raked in a global total of more than $950 million in theaters, while Barbie became the highest-grossing film of 2023 (and Warner Bros.' biggest movie ever!) at over $1.44 billion worldwide.

In June, the official Barbie movie Twitter account posted a trio of photos of a smiling Robbie and Gerwig, 40, holding up movie tickets as they stood in front of the posters for Oppenheimer, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One.

As for Murphy, he previously told Cinéfilos "sure" with a laugh when asked if he'd ever play a Ken should a second Barbie movie ever come to fruition, adding, "Let's read the script and let's have a conversation."

"I can't wait to see it," he said about Barbie at the time. "Can't wait to see the movie. I think it's great for cinema. You know, you've got all these great movies happening this summer."

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