George Clooney has praised studio executives at Universal for taking a risk and releasing his romantic-comedy Ticket to Paradise in cinemas.

While romcoms used to be box office hits and mainstays at the cinema, they have dipped in popularity in recent years and are more likely to be released on streaming services nowadays.

Clooney’s Ticket to Paradise, which serves as a reunion between him and Julia Roberts, is one of the few romcoms to be released by a studio this year and the risk paid off because it has already made its budget back without the North American market.

“We’re proud of the film. We enjoy it. It’s a hit already and so we already feel like it’s sort of been a great success,” he told The Hollywood Reporter at the film’s Los Angeles premiere on Monday. “Universal did a very brave thing. These things are only going on streamers now and they did a very brave thing to make a movie like this. We’re grateful. We’re hopeful.”

Unusually, Ticket to Paradise was released in most territories in September, and the U.S. and Canada are some of the last countries to show it, with the movie opening in cinemas on Friday.

During the interview, Clooney and Roberts, who worked together on the Ocean’s movies and Money Monster, were asked to explain why they keep collaborating.

“The money. Cash,” Clooney joked, to which Roberts stated, “Having a backup, having a friend… It’s such a puppy pile of a job where there’s so many people involved and then you’re kind of sent off like this satellite to talk about it all by yourself. It doesn’t make a lot of sense. And so, to be in lockstep with someone, it just makes it so much more fun.”

Ticket to Paradise also stars Kaitlyn Dever, Billie Lourd, and Lucas Bravo.

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