James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ Leads to Surge in Dog Adoption Interest

David Corenswet may technically be the star of James Gunn’s “Superman,” but the Man of Steel’s dog — well, foster dog, really — Krypto is proving to have a real world impact too. Thanks to the film, there’s been a surge in dog adoption interest.

In the movie, Superman is often tormented by, but also assisted in battle by Krypto the superdog who is … not well-trained. He’s devoted though, and proves capable in battle (don’t worry, the pup comes out just fine in the end). And, following his appearance in the film, viewers are looking into adopting pups like him.

According to the dog training app Woofz, Google searches for “adopt a dog near me” jumped up 513% after the opening weekend of “Superman,” while the more specific “rescue dog adoption near me” rose by 163%. 

Indeed, Krypto is actually based on James Gunn’s own rescue dog Ozu, who the director adopted while writing the film. As the story goes, Gunn was having trouble training the pup, and wondered how much worse things would be if Ozu had superpowers. And thus, Krypto joined the story.

According to Woofz’s findings, searches for “adopt a puppy” also increased by 31% and users even searched Krypto’s breed specifically. Searches for “adopt a schnauzer” spiked 299%, as Krypto appears to be a mix between a Terrier mutt and a Schnauzer (he is entirely CGI, though he is modeled after Ozu’s body and breed as well).

Celebrations of the spike aside, Woofz’ CEO Natalia Shahmetova noted in a statement that “adoption is a real commitment. The hype will fade, but your dog will stay, so make sure you’re ready to give them the time, care, and training they need and deserve.”

Additionally, Warner Bros. teamed up with Best Friends Animal Society and covered pet adoption fees from July 1-10, leading up to the film’s release on the 11th. In total, there were 454 pets adopted during that time across the nation. You can see some of the families that found their new fur babies in Los Angeles here.

This is not the first time one of Gunn’s film has had a positive impact on the animal community. Back in 2023, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” earned high praise from PETA, for shining a light on how cruel animal testing can be.

“Superman” is in theaters now.