Prometheus will probably best be remembered as one of the most disappointing films of the past several years.  I still can’t conjure up the vitriol I’ve seen directed at the movie, but I can understand the disdain of those who were excited by the prospect of Ridley Scott doing a big, bad-ass sci-fi film, and then having the plot crumble to dust if you gave it so much as a sideways glance.  Tyler Perry was not a fan of Scott’s latest film, but he’s still a major fan of sci-fi, and now he’s going to try his hand at the genre.

Hit the jump for more, and click here to see Perry in the trailer for Alex Cross (a man who, the trailer informs us, should not be crossed).

The first trailer for the James Patterson adaptation Alex Cross has landed online.  The film sees Tyler Perry taking over the titular role that was previously inhabited by Morgan Freeman in Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls.  Though I tried to go into this trailer with an open mind, if it weren’t for the movie stars you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a Lifetime Movie of the Week.  Perry tries way too hard at being the toughened detective, director Rob Cohen (xXx) shows off his penchant for explosions, and I have no idea what’s up with Matthew Fox but he’s going way over the top for the villain role.  It’ll be interesting to see how this plays for Patterson fans, as Summit is hoping that Alex Cross kicks off a string of franchise films for Perry.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Rachel Nichols, Edward Burns, Jean Reno, Giancarlo Esposito, and John C. McGinley.  Alex Cross opens on October 19th.

We’ve got a couple of new posters to share this evening.  First up is the poster debut for the crime thriller Alex Cross.  Tyler Perry stars as the titular detective in this adaptation of the James Patterson novel I, Alex Cross, with Matthew Fox playing a ripped-out-of-his-mind villain.  This poster boasts one of the worst taglines we’ve seen in a long time, and I’d be inclined to believe it was fake had it not premiered on a major website.  Anyway, “Don’t Cross Alex Cross” when Alex Cross hits theaters on October 26th.

Additionally, a new poster for the comedy Hope Springs has surfaced.  From director David Frankel, the film stars Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones as a married couple who go to see a therapist (Steve Carell) in order to work out their issues.  This poster proves that the film definitely knows its audience, as “from the director of The Devil Wears Prada” is positioned just above the title.  Hope Springs opens on August 10th.  Hit the jump to check out the posters.

Here’s a look at the new schedule of release dates for some upcoming movies:

• The Bourne Legacy, starring Jeremy Renner, Edward Norton and Rachel Weisz, will be pushed back a week to August 10th.
• The Babymakers, starring Olivia Munn, Paul Schneider and Aisha Tyler, will open August 3rd.
• Alex Cross, starring Tyler Perry, Rachel Nichols and Matthew Fox, will open a week earlier on October 19th.
• The Big Wedding, starring Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton and Katherine Heigl, will take Alex Cross’s previous spot, opening October 26th.

Hit the jump for more on each movie, including why Universal is delaying the opening of their fourth Bourne movie, The Bourne Legacy.

The first images of Tyler Perry not wearing a dress in the James Patterson adaptation Alex Cross have gone online.  Directed by Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious) the film is based on Patterson’s book I, Alex Cross, and Perry stars as the titular detective who was previously played by Morgan Freeman in the Patterson adaptations Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider.  More interesting, though, are the first images of Matthew Fox as the film’s villain.  He looks absolutely insane and ripped out of his mind.  I literally stared at one image for 10 seconds before I realized it was Fox who was putting someone in a Hulk-ed out choke hold.  It’s honestly kind of disturbing.

Anyway, hit the jump to check out the images, which also feature Edward Burns as Perry’s partner.  Alex Cross opens on October 26th.

Thought last weekend, when the comedy Think Like A Man took first place from the heavily-favored The Lucky One, was a surprise? Then check out this weekend’s estimates. Not only has Think Like A Man defied all expectations by holding the top spot for a second week; it did so by beating the heavily-favored rom-com The Five-Year Engagement from super-producer Judd Apatow. Could it be that post-racial America has finally arrived? Or is everyone just saving their money to see The Avengers? You be the judge.

After surprising us on Friday with its first-place debut, Think Like A Man has surprised again with its estimated $33 million haul from 2,015 locations.  That is the best per-screen average of the week (wide releases) and it nearly doubles expectations for the comedy. In second place, The Lucky One earned a solid $22.8 million and then there’s The Hunger Games… not sick of hearing about that one yet, are you?

We learned the release dates for one Billy Crystal/Bette Midler movie and three Tyler Perry movies tonight.  So something for everyone!

• Fox moved the Crystal/Midler comedy Parental Guidance from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day 2012.
• Perry will reprise his role as Madea in Madea’s Witness Protection on June 29.
• We the Peeples, which Perry is merely “presenting”, is moving from March 29, 2013 to May 10, 2013.
• The Marriage Counselor brings Perry back to write and direct, taking the old Peeples slot on March 29, 2013.

Hit the jump for what we know about each project.

After a strong debut on Friday, Act of Valor went on to win the weekend with an estimated $24.7 million from 3,039 locations.  Considering that this is an R-rated feature without any major stars, that’s a pretty remarkable start. Then again, with the fistfuls of cash Relativity devoted to marketing this Navy SEALs drama, anything less than first place would have felt un-American.

I am a Tyler Perry apologist around these parts, an admirer of his work ethic and devout fanbase.  However, I have a hard time defending his latest casting choice.  Perry has cast Kim Kardashian in The Marriage Counselor, an adaptation of Perry’s tenth play, which began touring in 2008.  The story centers on an Ivy League-educated marriage counselor whose marriage starts to fall apart when her husband’s parents move in: “The marriage counselor, Judith, stops practicing what she preaches when she rekindles a relationship with an old college flame.”  According to THR, Kardashian will play Judith’s co-worker.  I don’t see any other casting for The Marriage Counselor, but production is scheduled for late October on Perry’s lucky 13th collaboration with Lionsgate.

Hit the jump for news on Sam Reid‘s role in Paradise Lost.

Forbes has released their list of the highest-paid men in entertainment.  Minus Oprah, I bet it looks pretty much the same as the highest-paid people in general. That said, Tyler Perry does rep the diversity quotient at the top of the list with $130 million made from May 2010 to May 2011.  Perry is not popular with the critics, but I continue to be impressed by the man who can outearn such power players (and notable white men) as Jerry Bruckheimer and Steven Spielberg.  Perry has directed ten movies since his feature debut in 2006, and starred in most of them.  In recent years the two TBS sitcoms Meet the Browns and House of Payne have proven a major contribution to Perry’s paycheck.  He has a good shot at next year’s title, too: in 2012, he’ll deliver at least one more project, Good Deeds, and star in the potential franchise starter I, Alex Cross.

Look for the top ten and the oddities within (James Patterson?) after the jump.

Lionsgate has scheduled Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds for release on February 24, 2012 where it will face Gone, The Devil Inside, and Lockout.  This is the fourth of Perry’s movies to debut in February.  Per Variety, Good Deeds revolves around “a businessman (Perry) who falls in love with a single mother just before he is skedded to marry another woman.”  Thandie Newton and Gabrielle Union also star.

Disney released the first trailer for the Blu-ray release of The Lion King 3D last night.  We noted that the Hollywood theater El Capitan is selling tickets for a theatrical showing in September.  Today the studio announced a two-week wide release for The Lion King 3D starting September 16.  The 3D Blu-ray drops on October 4.  Hit the jump for the official press release with all the details.

Hollywood is definitely going to have its second ‘up’ weekend in a row come Sunday.  It’s another 2011 milestone!  Credit that success to Fox’s Rio, whose Friday-to-Friday estimate of $10.7 million was slightly higher than its debut one week ago, and to Tyler Perry’s latest, Madea’s Big Happy Family, which was just behind Rio with a Friday estimate of $10.5 million from 2,288 locations. Madea is not expected to match Perry’s past Easter weekend debuts, which means that Rio will most likely see its second weekend at number one.  Fox is back at number three with Water for Elephants.  The adaptation of the bestselling novel debuted with an estimated $7 million from 2,817 locations and should come in line with projections which put it in the mid teens or slightly above for the Easter weekend.  Finally, Disney Nature continued its tradition of Earth Day releases with African Cats.  They didn’t score the huge debut they saw with Earth, but Cats was cunning enough to make it into Friday’s top five with an estimated $3.3 million from just 1,220 locations.

We’ve got quite a few casting stories for you this afternoon. First up, it looks like Penelope Cruz is set to re-team with director Woody Allen. The actress won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her work in Allen’s Vicky Christina Barcelona and now EW reports that she’s set to work with the director again, presumably on his next film that is set in Rome. There are currently no plot details on the flick, which is set to start filming this summer.

Maggie Grace has closed her deal to return in producer Luc Besson’s Taken 2. There was previously some hubbub over whether star Liam Neeson would reprise his role from the first film, but everything was squared away and now Deadline reports that the film is ready to go with director Olivier Megaton (Transporter 3). Hit the jump for the casting news of Thandie Newton starring in Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds, Jay Baruchel joining David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis and Ryan O’Nan nabbing a starring role in Freelancers.

I am not even remotely the audience for Tyler Perry’s movies, but I admire the man.  With two successful television series (Meet the Browns and House of Payne) on the air, Perry regularly churns out 1-2 feature films a year that debut to astoundingly consistent commercial results.  Before he takes a brief detour to play detective Alex Cross for director Rob Cohen later this year, the auteur in Perry will direct and star in Good Deeds based on his own original screenplay.  THR reports Perry will play Glen Deeds in the romantic drama about “a successful entrepreneur who’s about to get married when he suddenly finds himself more interested in a down-on-her-luck single mother than his uptown fiance.”  As far as I can tell, the role will not require Perry as a woman and/or in a fat suit.

Filming will begin at the end of April in Atlanta under Perry’s studio home Lionsgate.  The next Perry feature, Madea’s Big Happy Family, is scheduled for release on April 22.