The documentary’s promising debut brings new attention to a disputed photograph—and the deeply personal question of whether it reveals Joseph Smith’s actual likeness. YOU BE THE JUDGE!
“This was originally just going to be a 20 minute YouTube video,” Patrick Bishop said, “and it’s turned into something amazing.”
For the independent researcher, the theatrical reception of Brother Joseph Again marks an unexpected turn in a project that began with a historical mystery. Now, with additional locations planned beginning Oct. 16, according to the filmmakers, more audiences will have the opportunity to consider its central question: Could a photograph preserved in a family locket show the actual face of Joseph Smith?
The documentary opened Oct. 9, earning $36,248 across 10 theaters—a $3,625 per-location average, according to Box Office Mojo. Its Utah engagements included Megaplex Thanksgiving Point, Jordan Commons, Legacy Crossing and Pineview, along with Cinemark Provo.
According to the filmmakers, Brother Joseph Again ranked No. 1 at all five locations on Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Over the opening weekend, it led Cinemark Provo and finished second behind Other Mommy at Thanksgiving Point and Legacy Crossing. At Legacy Crossing, it achieved that standing without a screening after 5:30 p.m.
Director Daylen Pollard said he was “thrilled and overjoyed by its reception.”
Those results represent local successes, not a national box office breakout. Still, they suggest that a documentary about faith, history and an unresolved identity can attract audiences alongside larger Hollywood releases.
Ticket sales cannot establish whose face appears in the photograph. They can, however, demonstrate an interest in examining the evidence.
For Bishop, reaching those audiences matters more than the financial returns.
“Over the last few days I’ve had some friends mention to me that it’s great that the film may actually turn a profit. But to me, it’s never been about the money. It’s about getting the research to the people so that they can come to know the Prophet a little bit better,” he said.
At the heart of Brother Joseph Again is a daguerreotype passed down through Smith’s descendants. Bishop and artist Joseph Brickey investigate whether it depicts the founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, building their case through historical research and forensic comparisons.
The identification remains disputed.
For historians, the question turns on evidence: Can the photograph’s provenance and the facial comparisons withstand scrutiny? For Church members, the possibility also carries deeply personal significance—the prospect of seeing an actual image of the prophet who restored a faith tradition woven into their hearts and lives.
Brickey described that connection to The Salt Lake Tribune: “It looks like a man who could have lived the life that Joseph lived, someone you felt like you could follow into battle rather than salute in the pews.”
An independent researcher and artist who appears throughout much of the documentary, Brickey said his priority was to make the case accessible to viewers.
People can “clearly understand and follow and judge for themselves the strength of the forensic case of Joseph Smith’s likeness,” he said in a statement. “This was always my primary goal with this project.”
The film’s expanding theatrical run extends that invitation: “judge for yourself if this is Joseph.”
Behind the opening-weekend numbers and plans for more theaters remains the mystery that started it all—a face inside a family locket, and the possibility of finding a more human connection to a very familiar (a extremely revered) name.
Guest Author
dyejo
Tyler Smith
