The Galway native plays Diplomat Barbie in the record-breaking blockbuster

Irish actress Nicola Coughlan has been named as one of the most influential stars of blockbuster hit, Barbie.

The Greta Gerwig blockbuster is continuing to dominate headlines and cinemas worldwide, following its highly anticipated arrival on the big screen at the weekend.

With the Barbie buzz also in full swing on social media, new data has been revealed ranking the highest-earning stars of the movie, with some potentially earning up to $234,297 per sponsored Instagram post.

New data conducted by The Influence Agency analyzed the Instagram profiles for the cast of Greta Gerwig’s record-breaking blockbuster, using influencer marketing calculators to determine which stars are the most followed, and how much they can earn per sponsored post.

Dua Lipa, who plays Mermaid Barbie, proves to be the most popular and highest-earning cast member. With nearly 90 million Instagram followers, an engagement rate of 2.33%, and an average of two million likes per post, she can earn up to an estimated $234,298 for a single sponsored Instagram post.

The star also contributed the original song, ‘Dance The Night,’ to the movie soundtrack, which has already been streamed more than 81 million times on Spotify.

John Cena is the second-highest-earning influencer in the Barbie ensemble. The wrestler and actor, who will portray a Merman Ken, has the second-highest following of 19.3 million, allowing him to earn up to $51,346 per sponsored post. John Cena receives an average of 127,743 likes per Instagram post and has gained 220,206 followers in the last 30 days alone.

The third most influential cast member is Issa Rae, who plays the role of President Barbie. The actress, writer, and producer is well known for her hit TV show, Insecure, and has an Instagram following of more than 4 million. This, as well as averaging 188,124 likes per post, means she could earn an estimated $10,607 per sponsored post.

Simu Liu is another hugely influential cast member. The Marvel star plays the role of another Ken and is the fourth highest-earning cast member. With a follower count of more than three million and an average of 211,543 likes per post, the Canadian actor can make an estimated $8,135 per sponsored post.

Ncuti Gatwa is the fifth most influential cast member. The Rwandan-Scottish actor best known for his role on Netflix’s Sex Education has amassed almost 2.6 million Instagram followers. With an average of 31,465 likes for each of his Instagram posts, Ncuti’s estimated potential earnings for sponsored Instagram posts are just shy of $6,780.

Galway native, Nicola Coughlan, who plays Diplomat Barbie, is the sixth most influential cast member, with an Instagram following of just over 2.5 million. The Bridgerton and Derry Girls actress has a high engagement rate of 11.01% and could earn up to $6,652 per sponsored post.

Most popularly known for her role as Daphne on the Disney show, Stuck in the Middle, Ariana Greenblatt plays a character named Sasha and is the seventh most influential Barbie cast member. Ariana is followed by more than 1.6 million fans on Instagram, meaning she can earn an average of $4,301 per sponsored Instagram post.

Hari Nef, who plays Doctor Barbie and is the eighth most influential cast member. The actress can potentially earn up to $3,830 per sponsored Instagram post. The estimated earnings are from her 900,000 followers, thanks to her role as Gittel in Amazon Prime’s Transparent.

America Ferrera, who plays Gloria, ranks ninth, earning up to $3,583 per sponsored post on Instagram. These earnings are due to a following of over 1.3 million. The Ugly Betty and Superstore star has an engagement rate of 2.56%.

Another Sex Education star, Connor Swindells, is the tenth most influential Barbie cast member. With more than 1.2 million Instagram followers and an engagement rate of 4.94%, Connor could earn up to $3,381 per sponsored post.

Instagram earnings data was unavailable for some cast members, most notably Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, who plays the lead Barbie and Ken in the film. Gosling does not have an Instagram profile, while Robbie is on an extended break from Instagram.

A spokesperson for The Influence Agency commented on the findings saying:

“The hotly anticipated release of Barbie has generated significant buzz since it was first announced, and these findings reveal the cast members who stand to benefit the most from the movie’s immense popularity.

“While many will be aware of Dua Lipa’s role in producing one of the many tracks for the Barbie soundtrack, others may be unaware that she will also be making her acting debut as Mermaid Barbie in the movie.

“It is also interesting to see the inclusion of emerging talents in Hollywood, such as Ariana Greenblatt and Hari Nef. Appearing in such a huge film is likely to not only boost their online following but help them land further high profile roles in the future.”