August 2026 saw a wave of follower growth on Instagram, with ten U.S. accounts topping the Net Influencer ranking for the month. Four of those accounts were directly linked to Disney’s D23 Expo, underscoring the power of major entertainment events to drive social‑media momentum.
Disney D23 Expo fuels four of the top ten
Sadie Sink (@sadiesink_) led the list, gaining 2.1 million followers for a total of 34.8 million after debuting as Jean Grey at Disney’s D23 Expo on Aug. 14 and promoting the upcoming “X‑Men” film. Navarrette, revealed as Rogue at the same expo, added 1.2 million followers, bringing her total to 5.1 million. Marvel Studios (@marvelstudios) grew by 696 K followers, reaching 65.1 million, after showcasing new footage from “Avengers: Doomsday” and the upcoming Vision series “VisionQuest.” Finally, the official Marvel Studios account added 696 K followers, reflecting the expo’s broad appeal.
Celebrity milestones and tributes boost other accounts
Country music legend Dolly Parton (@dollyparton) rose to the No. 2 spot with a gain of 1.5 million followers, totaling 10.1 million, following her death on Aug. 25 and a wave of public tributes. Robert Downey Jr. (@robertdowneyjr) added 1.0 million followers (58.7 million total) after appearing at D23 to promote new footage from “Avengers: Doomsday,” where he will portray Doctor Doom.
Other notable growth stories
Zendaya (@zendaya) gained 963 K followers, reaching 178 million, as the “Spider‑Man: Brand New Day” film crossed $1 billion worldwide in six days. YouTube star MrBeast (@mrbeast) added 903.7 K followers (89.1 million total) after announcing his July marriage to streamer Thea Booysen and maintaining his regular content schedule.
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani of New York City (@nycmayor) saw a rise of 878.5 K followers, now at 4.7 million, amid national coverage of his administration’s pied‑à‑terre tax rollout and an ethics complaint from a Washington, D.C. watchdog group.
Lin Lamar (@pinkchyuwu) went viral after a Drake livestream segment on Aug. 8, gaining 716.9 K followers (3.0 million total). Ella Rubin (@ellarubin1) added 689.5 K followers, reaching 774.2 K, after starring in the Amazon Prime Video hit “Sterling Point,” which premiered on Aug. 5 and was renewed by Aug. 20.
Data source and context
The rankings are based on data from HypeAuditor, compiled by Net Influencer and reviewed by Stacker. The surge in follower counts highlights how major pop‑culture events, celebrity milestones, and strategic content releases continue to shape social‑media growth across the United States.
Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.
