Oscars Stir as Two Nominees Share the Award in Unprecedented Tie

The 2026 Oscars delivered an unexpected twist on Sunday night, as one of the awards resulted in a rare tie, leaving the audience and presenters equally surprised.

In the Best Live Action Short Film category, host Kumail Nanjiani was visibly taken aback when he announced the winners. “And the Oscar goes to – it’s a tie! I’m not joking, it’s actually a tie,” he exclaimed, urging the audience to remain calm as the surprising news was revealed.

The prestigious award was shared by the creators of the short films “Two People Exchanging Saliva” and “The Singers,” marking a memorable moment in Oscar history.

This unexpected outcome is notably only the seventh instance of a tie occurring at the Academy Awards, adding to the night’s excitement and unpredictability.

The shocking outcome appears to be only the seventh time that a tie has been announced in Academy Awards history.

While it occurred at the 2026 ceremony in one of the lower-profile categories, the most famous Oscars tie occurred in 1969, when Katharine Hepburn won for The Lion In Winter, while Barbra Streisand tied her for her screen debut in Funny Girl.

The 2026 Oscars threw a curveball on Sunday evening when one of the categories came down to a tie. While announcing the winners in the Best Live Action Short Film category, Kumail Nanjiani looked shocked to reveal that there had been a tie

To preserve the surprise of the second of the two winners being named, Nanjiani revealed that he would wait to announce the second winner until the first group could give its acceptance speech.

First up were directors Sam A Davis and Jack Piatt, who won for The Singers.

Director Davis appeared stunned by the reveal as he told the crowd, ‘A tie, wow. I didn’t know that was a thing, a tie, but we’re happy to be up here.’

After Davis and Piatt wrapped up, Nanjiani then awarded the Oscar to directing team Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata for Two People Exchanging Saliva.

Nanjiani quipped that it was ‘ironic that the short film Oscar is going to take twice as long’ to present.

Singh and Musteata said that they were ‘so happy to be sharing this Oscar with The Singers’ and noted it was a historical moment that has only happened a handful of times in Oscar history.

The directing duo also appeared to take a jab at Timothee Chalamet during their stage time as they celebrated the societal impact of the arts, including theater, cinema and ballet. 

Chalamet has been the target of backlash after he recently declared that ‘no one cares’ about ballet and opera.

‘We believe art can change people’s souls,’ Singh said. ‘Maybe it takes ten years’ time, but we can change society through art, through creativity, through theater and ballet, and also cinema.’

Once the Best Live Action Short Film winners cleared the stage, host Conan O’brien couldn’t help but poke fun at the tie.

‘I just want to say congratulations to both winners. You just ruined 22 million Oscar pools,’ he said, which earned roaring laughter from the A-list crowd.

The first-ever Oscars tie occurred in 1932 when both Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde’s Fredric March and The Champ’s Wallace Beery won Best Actor.

The next tie came nearly two decades later in 1950 when the films A Chance To Live and So Much For So Little won Best Documentary Short.

The award was split between the creators of the short films The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva; (From left) David Breschel, Mike Yung, Sam Davis and Jack Piatt accepting the gong for The Singers

Nanjiani revealed that he would announce only one film at a time to preserve the surprise for the second group of winners. Directors Natalie Musteata (front left) and Alexandre Singh (front right) accept for Two People Exchanging Saliva

Nanjiani quipped that it was ‘ironic that the short film Oscar is going to take twice as long’ to present

After the awards were handed out, Nanjiani posed with both winners backstage; Nanjiani seen with Two People Exchanging Saliva directors Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata

Nanjiani seen with The Singers director Jack Piatt and Sam Davis

It was in 1969 when Hepburn famously tied with Streisand for Best Actress.

In 1987 the Best Documentary Feature came down to a tie and the award was given to both Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got and Down And Out In America.

Before 2026, the Best Live Action Short Film category first experienced a tie result in 1995 with Franz Kafka’s It’s A Wonderful Life and Trevor both taking the win.

The sixth and most recent tie in Oscar history occurred in 2013 when Best Sound Editing was won by both Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty.

One Battle After Another ended the 2026 awards season by winning Best Picture on a night where Michael B Jordan and Jessie Buckley earned top acting prizes.

Jordan, 39, shocked the world at the 98th Academy Awards as he upset Timothee Chalamet to win Best Actor for Sinners as Buckley, 36, took home Best Actress for her work in Hamnet at the event held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Paul Thomas Anderson accepted the top prize of the night alongside Teyana Taylor and the rest of the cast and crew as the film earned the most wins of the night with six. 

The American black comedy action-thriller triumphed over a massive competitive field that included Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, and Train Dreams.

One Battle After Another ended the 2026 Oscars by winning Best Picture as director Paul Thomas Anderson accepted the honor beside Teyana Taylor as the honor was presented by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman (seen left to right)

Michael B Jordan shocked the world as he upset Timothee Chalamet to win Best Actor at the Oscars

Jessie Buckley continued her winning ways as she earned Best Actress for her role in Hamnet

The Leonardo DiCaprio–led film One Battle After Another is centered around a group of ex-revolutionaries who reunite to rescue the daughter of one of their own as their enemy resurfaces after 16 years. 

The most talked about moment of the night will surely be that Jordan, 39, earned the top honor Best Actor for his leading role in Ryan Coogler film Sinners. 

He upset the seeming awards-season favorite, 30-year-old Marty Supreme star Chalamet, while the rest of the field included: Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).

Jordan was in disbelief as he walked up to the stage and was greeted by last year’s winner, Adrien Brody.

Sinners is centered around two brothers who return to their hometown to start over again, only to discover that an even greater evil — in the form of vampires — is waiting to welcome them back. 

Jordan portrayed both brothers in the film: older and more serious twin Elijah ‘Smoke’ Moore, in addition to younger and more cheerful sibling Elias ‘Stack’ Moore.

Jessie Buckley continued her winning ways as she earned Best Actress for her role in Hamnet.

The 36-year-old Irish actress beat out Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), and Emma Stone (Bugonia).

Paul Thomas Anderson accepted the top prize of the night as the film earned the most wins of the night with six

The American black comedy action-thriller film triumphed over a massive, competitive, field including: Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, and Train Dreams

One Battle After Another is centered around a group of ex-revolutionaries who reunite to rescue the daughter of one of their own as their enemy resurfaces after 16 years

The most talked about moment of the night will surely be that Michael B Jordan, 39, earned the top honor Best Actor for his leading role in Ryan Coogler film Sinners

Timothee Chalamet saw his years-long Oscars dream go up in smoke on Sunday as he was brutally snubbed

Jordan was in disbelief as he walked up to the stage and was greeted by last year’s winner Adrien Brody

Sinners is centered around two brothers who return to their hometown to start again only to discover that an even greater evil – in the form of vampires – is waiting to welcome them back

Jordan portrayed both brothers in the film: younger and more cheerful sibling Elias ‘Stack’ Moore (left) in addition to older and more serious twin Elijah ‘Smoke’ Moore (right)

Jessie Buckley continued her winning ways as she earned Best Actress for her role in Hamnet

The Chloé Zhao-directed and written film takes place after Agnes and William Shakespeare (Buckley and Paul Mescal) lose their son Hamnet to the plague and grapple with grief in 16th-century England. Agnes is a healer who must find strength to care for her surviving children while processing her devastating loss 

Hamnet takes place after Agnes and William Shakespeare (Buckley and Paul Mescal) lose their son Hamnet to the plague and grapple with grief in 16th-century England, based on the novel of the same name. 

Agnes is a healer who must find strength to care for her surviving children while processing her devastating loss. 

One Battle After Another was the biggest winner of the evening as Paul Thomas Anderson earned both Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. 

Meanwhile, Sean Penn was not in attendance as he earned his third Oscar.

The 65-year-old A-lister’s name was announced by Kieran Culkin for the Best Supporting Actor Award for his work in One Battle After Another but he was not in the building to accept.

He triumphed over his One Battle After Another co-star Benicio Del Toro in addition to Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein, Delroy Lindo – Sinners, and Stellan Skarsgard – Sentimental Value in the highly-competitive category.

The sharp-tongued Culkin joked: ‘Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening or didn’t want to, so I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf.’

Amy Madigan took home the first award at the Oscars 2026 on Sunday night. 

One Battle After Another was the biggest winner of the evening as Paul Thomas Anderson earned both Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay

Sean Penn was not in attendance as he earned his third Oscar

The 65-year-old A-lister’s name was announced by Kieran Culkin for the Best Supporting Actor Award for his work in One Battle After Another but he was not in the building (Penn is pictured with co-star and fellow nominee Benicio del Toro in Santa Barbara last month) 

In the Paul Thomas Anderson directed film, Penn portrays Col. Steven J. Lockjaw who is a corrupt military officer who pursues revolutionary group the French 75

Amy Madigan took home the first award at the Oscars 2026 on Sunday night

The 75-year-old veteran actress earned Best Supporting Actress for her work in Zach Creggar supernatural mystery horror film Weapons

The synopsis of the film reads: ‘When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance’

Ryan Coogler finally earned his first in the Best Original Screenplay category for his epic Sinners

KPop Demon Hunters earned Best Animated Feature Film (Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle L.M. Wong are seen left to right) and Best Original Song for Golden

The film is centered around a world-renowned K-Pop girl group balance their lives in the spotlight with their secret identities as demon hunters

The 75-year-old veteran actress earned Best Supporting Actress for her work in Zach Creggar’s supernatural mystery horror film Weapons.

It was one of the most contentious categories of the night as she was up against Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners), and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).

Ryan Coogler finally earned his first win in the Best Original Screenplay category for his epic Sinners. 

One of the most touching wins of the night came when Autumn Durald Arkapaw won Best Cinematography for Sinners. 

The second award of the night was groundbreaking as KPop Demon Hunters earned Best Animated Feature Film.

The Netflix film triumphed over Arco, Elio, Little Amelie or the Character of Rain and Zootopia 2.

Later on in the night, the film made history once again as KPop Demon Hunters earned Best Original Song for the smash hit song Golden.

It beat out Dear Me (Diane Warren: Relentless), I Lied to You (Sinners), Sweet Dreams of Joy (Viva Verdi!), and Train Dreams (Train Dreams).

The Netflix film is centered around the members of a world-renowned KPop girl group who balance their lives in the spotlight with their secret identities as demon hunters.