‘Superman’ Movie Sparks Huge Spike in Dog Adoptions

James Gunn’s new Superman movie is not just winning at the box office, it’s helping real dogs too. While David Corenswet plays Superman on screen, it’s Krypto, his CGI-powered superdog, that’s stealing hearts and making a real difference. Since the movie hit theaters, many people are feeling inspired to adopt dogs, and the numbers prove it.

According to Woofz, a dog training app, Google searches for “adopt a dog near me” jumped by a massive 513% right after the movie’s opening weekend. People weren’t just looking to adopt any dogs either. Searches for “rescue dog adoption near me” rose by 163%, and searches for “adopt a puppy” also went up by 31%.

Fans even looked up Krypto’s breed – or at least what people believe it to be. Since Krypto looks like a mix of Terrier and Schnauzer, Woofz says that searches for “adopt a schnauzer” jumped by 299%.

Krypto’s story in the film feels even more personal when you learn where he came from. Director James Gunn revealed that Krypto is inspired by his own rescue dog, Ozu. Gunn adopted Ozu while writing Superman and joked about what life would be like if Ozu had superpowers.

That joke eventually became part of the movie’s storyline. Gunn said it himself: “I was struggling to train Ozu and started thinking how much worse it would be if he could fly.”

The movie’s effect didn’t stop with just online searches. Warner Bros. worked with Best Friends Animal Society to help dogs in need even more. From July 1 to July 10, right before the movie opened on July 11, they covered adoption fees across the U.S. Thanks to this, 454 pets found new homes during that time.

This isn’t the first time James Gunn’s movies helped animals. Back in 2023, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 received praise from PETA for showing how harmful animal testing can be.

Krypto may be a CGI dog on the big screen, but thanks to Superman’s latest adventure, hundreds of real dogs are getting a second chance at life. Superman is now playing in theaters.

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