Christmas Exodus Continues as 'Hot Tub Time Machine 2' Pushes Back Release

The Paramount and MGM sequel now won't open until late winter

Don't look for tickets to Hot Tub Time Machine 2 for that matter, or family film Paddington, under the Christmas tree.

On Tuesday, both films abandoned their Dec. 25 release dates.

Instead, Paramount and MGM will instead open Hot Tub 2 on Feb. 20, 2015.

One possible reason for the shift is to avoid a direct showdown with Sony's Christmas Day comedy The Interview, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, although that film will skew younger. Another reason could be Chris Rock's Top Five. Paramount acquired the dark comedy at the Toronto Film Festival in September, quickly slotting it for nationwide release on Dec. 12. The studio could want more room between the two films.

Read more Paramount to Distribute MGM's 'Hot Tub Time Machine' Sequel

In a twinned move, Paramount is pushing back the release of Scouts vs. Zombies by eight months, from Feb. 20, 2015 to Oct. 20, 2015.

Hot Tub 2, directed by Steve Pink, stars Craig Robinson, Adam Scott, Rob Corddry, Chevy Case, Gillian Jacobs and Clark Duke.

Hours before Paramount announced it was pushing back the the sequel's release, The Weinstein Co. said it was moving British family film Paddington, based on the iconic children's book, from Dec. 25 to Jan. 16, 2015, the beginning of the long Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

There are still plenty of films to choose from over the Christmas holiday. Angelina Jolie's Unbroken from Universal and Disney's musical Into the Woods, starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Anna Kendrick, open nationwide Dec. 25, while Sony's musical Annie, Warner Bros.' The Hobbit: The Battle of the Dark Armies and Fox's Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb launch the week before.