Road to Rio $4.5 million in rental income in its initial release period in the United States and was placed sixth in the top-grossing films of 1947. The critics liked it, with "The New York Times" saying in its review of February 19, 1948, inter alia: "With Bing Crosby and Bob Hope on the tramp again in “Road to Rio,” recklessly scattering jokes and rescuing perennial girl friend Dorothy Lamour from dangerous hypnotic trances, there’s fun to be had at the Paramount. Maybe this is not the funniest picture ever made; maybe it is not even quite as rewarding as some of those
The Road to Hong Kong to dump their old partner Lamour (with whom they had excellent screen chemistry) for the more youthful Collins. Others thought the decade-long gap since the last "Road" movie wrecked the momentum of the series and that Peter Sellers came off as more fresh and funny than the aging stars of the film. In 1977, Sir Lew Grade had planned to reunite Hope, Crosby and Lamour in "The Road to the Fountain of Youth" for which Melville Shavelson had completed the script, but Crosby died before production. Crosby was rumored to have asked the writers for a Monty Python-esque script in