Oscar hopefuls including Jessie Buckley and Timothée Chalamet gather for
luncheon and class picture
[February 11, 2026]
By ANDREW DALTON
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Nearly all of the 230 people up for Oscars
across 24 categories gathered Tuesday for the Academy Award nominees
luncheon, an event that functions as a celebration, group portrait
session and orientation for next month's big ceremony.
Nominees including Jessie Buckley, Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio
and Emma Stone sat for lunch and stood for a class photo alongside
nominees for awards including best animated short and the newly created
casting Oscar.
The ballroom at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, was
especially full of nominees for “Sinners,” the most nominated film of
all time, including star Michael B. Jordan and director Ryan Coogler.
Lynette Howell Taylor, elected in July as president of the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, made her first address to Oscar
nominees, and gave them a set of instructions on how to handle their
acceptance speeches if they win.
“Be prepared,” she said. “Don’t say you didn’t expect it. You have a one
in five chance of winning.”
She urged winners to “make it heartfelt,” not to try to thank everyone
they can think of, pick one person to speak for a group of victors and
hold speeches to 45 seconds.
The luncheon is a relatively egalitarian affair where big names mix with
small ones and veteran nominees stand for photos with first-timers.
Craig Renaud, nominated for best documentary short for “Armed Only With
a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud,” got to chat with DiCaprio,
up for best actor for “One Battle After Another,” at the tables before
the group photo.
Nearby, Mohammaddreza Eyni, co-director with Sara Khaki of documentary
feature nominee “Cutting Through Rocks,” talked about his film with
Ethan Hawke, nominated for best actor for “Blue Moon.”
The roll call where every nominee in attendance is summoned to the
stage, is the centerpiece of the gathering. It feels much like the names
being read off at a high school graduation. (Nominees even get a
certificate on departure that looks like a diploma. “Woo-hoo!” best
supporting actress nominee Elle Fanning said when handed hers on her way
out, and asked for a photo with it.)
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Jessie Buckley arrives at the 98th Academy Awards Oscar nominees
luncheon on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in
Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
 This year's roll call, read by actor
and Academy Board of Governors member Lou Diamond Phillips, began
with Delroy Lindo, up for best supporting actor for “Sinners,” and
ended with Teyana Taylor, up for best supporting actress for its
biggest competitor, “One Battle After Another.”
The luncheon was a return to tradition after last year's was called
off because it fell amid Southern California's destructive
wildfires. A cocktail reception with the class picture just a few
days before the ceremony replaced it.
There were many happy meetings among nominees as they arrived.
Steven Spielberg, nominated for best picture as a producer of “Hamnet,”
chatted in the lobby with “One Battle” best director nominee Paul
Thomas Anderson. Spielberg took a photo of Anderson leaning on an
Oscar statue.
Chloé Zhao, up for her second best director Oscar for “Hamnet,”
hugged former academy president Janet Yang.
Jacob Elordi, who stands 6-foot-5, embraced the nearly as tall
director of Sirât, Oliver Laxe, near the entrance and attracted the
attention of most of the cameras in the room. Elordi is up for best
supporting actor for “Frankenstein” and “Sirât” is up for best
international feature.
Academy members from 88 countries voted for the nominees, Howell
said proudly during her speech, and every category had at least one
international nominee.
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