The annual Academy Award nominees luncheon is my favourite part of an otherwise excruciatingly dull affair – and the group picture reveals more than any winners list could
A
s you will all be aware, the Oscars aren’t particularly fun. They are an overlong celebration of underwatched films that take place in a room where, by the end of the evening, the bulk of those present have been told that they aren’t good enough to win anything. The whole thing is excruciating.
But you know what’s much better than the Oscars? The annual Oscars nominees luncheon. This is when everyone who has been nominated gathers for a nice lunch. It isn’t televised, so nobody has to be on their best behaviour. No awards are handed out, so technically everyone invited is an equal. And, best of all, they take a class photo of everyone at the end.
This is brilliant because not only does it act as a snapshot of the great and good in any given year, but mainly because it is genuinely impossible to have that many people look completely normal at the exact moment in time. So with that in mind, here are the annual Oscars luncheon class photo awards for 2026.
