Rare Tie at the 2026 Oscars for Best Live-Action Short

The 98th Academy Awards saw a rare occurrence on Sunday, March 15, 2026: a tie in the Best Live-Action Short Film category. “The Singers” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva” were jointly awarded the Oscar, marking the seventh tie in the Academy’s history [CBS News].

A Moment of Surprise

During the awards ceremony, presenter Kumail Nanjiani announced the tie to a surprised audience, stating, “I’m not joking. It’s actually a tie.” [CBS News]. “The Singers” director Sam Davis expressed his astonishment, saying, “A tie, wow. I didn’t know that was a thing, but we’re happy to be up here.” [CBS News]

Natalie Musteata, director of “Two People Exchanging Saliva,” added, “We love all of our fellow nominees, and we’re so, so grateful to everyone who has supported our film. Thank you to the academy … For supporting a film that is weird and that is queer and that is made by a majority of women.” [CBS News]

A Historical Look at Oscar Ties

Ties at the Oscars are infrequent. The first occurred at the 5th Academy Awards in 1932, with Fredric March and Wallace Beery both winning Best Actor. However, that result was based on a rule that awarded prizes to nominees within three votes of the winner. March received one more vote than Beery [Page Six]. The rules have since been changed to require an exact tie for a shared award [Page Six].

Other notable ties include Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand both winning Best Actress in 1969 [Page Six] and a tie in the documentary short subject category in 1949 [CBS News].

Recent Oscar History

Prior to 2026, the last tie at the Oscars occurred in 2013 [MSN]. The 2026 tie marks the seventh in the Academy’s nearly century-long history [CBS News].