Oscars tie explained as The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva both win

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Oscars 2026 ‘tie’ explained as two winners take best live short(Image: Penske Media via Getty Images)

The 2026 Oscars has seen a rare moment occur for the awards show’s history. For just the seventh time in nearly 100 years of the Oscars, a category has been won by more than one film.

Both The Singers, a short musical comedy, and Two People Exchanging Saliva, a French language drama, have won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short. The award was presented by Kumail Nanjiani, who was just as shocked as audiences when he announced that it was a tie and two films had won. Presenter Conan O’Brien was also shocked, and thanked the films for “ruining” millions of Oscar betting pools.

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Two People Exchanging Saliva was one of the two winners(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

This is a rare moment for the awards, as even though there have been 98 editions, a tie has only happened seven times. The first tie happened in 1932, when both Fredric March, for Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde, and Wallace Beery, for The Champ, won the award for Best Actor. This happened despite March receiving one more vote than Beery. This caused a rule change, as until then, it was stated that anyone who came within three votes of the winner would be awarded the prize as well.

The win particularly stung for Alfred Lunt, as he was the only other actor nominated in the category and therefore the only one not to win. The Academy decided that in following years, only the exact number of votes would count.

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The Singers was another winner(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The next tie happened in 1950, for Documentary Short. So Much For So Little, a film about the importance of healthcare, and A Chance To Live, about World War 2 orphans, both won the award.

In 1969, both Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand won the award for Best Actress. Katharine won for her role in The Lion in Winter, while Barbra won for Funny Girl. This was controversial as Barbra had only just joined the Academy. Ordinarily, actors can join the Academy after being in three films – this was Barbra’s first – or the year after being nominated for an award.

However, an exception was made for Barbra, who presumably voted for herself, leading to the tie with Katharine. Both received 3,030 votes each.

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Barbra Streisand’s win was controversial(Image: Getty Images)

Many accused studios of putting pressure on the Academy to allow Barbra in early, but in a 1969 clipping from the Hollywood Reporter, Gregory Peck said, “There is no studio pressure in any phase of the Academy’s activities. There are loyalties and advocacies, of course, but pressure, no. It’s impossible. We’re not dependent on the studios. We’re not under any obligation to them. They have no leverage at all on the Academy.”

In 1987, another tie happened, this time in the Best Documentary. Both Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got and Down And Out In America won.

1995 was when a tie next happened. Both Trevor and Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life won Best Live Action Short, just like The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva would over 30 years later. The Franz Kafka film was written and directed by Peter Capaldi, who would go on to be the Twelfth Doctor in Doctor Who.

The sixth tie came in 2013, when both Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall won for Best Sound Editing. Mark Wahlberg presented the award and upon announcing that there was a tie, he insisted: “No B.S.!”