The film was not successful at the box office despite the positive reviews, but the soundtrack album became a national best seller.
In 1956, 20th Century-Fox had two Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II films in release, this film and The King and I (1956), as well as the CinemaScope version of Oklahoma! (1955). This film, a critical success, was a box-office failure. "The King and I" was a smash hit critically and financially. Fox put all of its Oscar campaign clout behind "The King and I", which won several Oscars. This film became one of only three Rodgers and Hammerstein films shut out of the Academy Awards; the others were State Fair (1962) and The King and I (1999).
Shirley Jones has said that of all of her musicals, "Carousel" is her favorite Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II score.
Richard Rodgers always considered this film his favorite score, even though it didn't generate the number of popular hits that some of the other shows he produced with Oscar Hammerstein II did.