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.
The award was split between the creators of the short films Two People Exchanging Saliva and The Singers.
‘And the Oscar goes to – it’s a tie! I’m not joking, it’s actually a tie,’ the comedian said. ‘Everyone, calm down, we’re going to get through this.’
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.
The 98th Academy Awards are celebrating the best films of 2025, with the glitzy ceremony taking place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
O’Brien, 62, returned to host the show for a second consecutive year after taking over the role from Jimmy Kimmel.
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners leads the pack with a record-breaking 16 nominations, the most for any film in Academy Awards history.
The horror flick is one of the ten films up for Best Picture alongside Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value and Train Dreams.
Sinners star Michael B. Jordan faces a stacked Best Actor category, competing against fellow nominees Timothee Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).
Set in 1930s Mississippi, Sinners follows twin brothers (both played by Jordan) who return to their hometown only to face a supernatural evil.
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners leads the pack with a record-breaking 16 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another landed in second place with 13 nominations, including Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, Supporting Actor nods for Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn, as well as a Supporting Actress nomination for Teyana Taylor
Marty Supreme, directed by Josh Safdie, netted nine Oscar nods, with leading man Timothee Chalamet up for Best Actor and the movie nominated for Best Picture
The Best Actor race is currently a dead heat. While Chalamet dominated the early season with wins at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards, the momentum shifted after Jordan won at the Actor Awards, formerly known as the SAG Awards.
Adding to the tension, the ceremony arrives on the heels of Chalamet’s controversial comments about how ‘no one cares’ about ballet or opera, which sparked a wave of backlash from the arts community.
Based on the life of professional ping-pong player Marty Reisman, Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme stars Chalamet as a table tennis prodigy in 1950s New York whose ambition to become world champion jeopardizes his personal relationships.
Irish star Jessie Buckley is the frontrunner in the Best Actress category for her work in Hamnet. She faces a star-studded field including Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I would Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), and Emma Stone (Bugonia).
Helmed by 2021’s Best Director winner Chloe Zhao, Hamnet dives into the reimagined story of William Shakespeare’s home life and how the death of his 11-year-old son provided the emotional blueprint for his masterpiece, Hamlet.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another earned 13 nominations.
Along with a Best Director nod, the film also nabbed a Best Actor mention for DiCaprio, and Supporting Actor nods for Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn.
The black comedy action-thriller follows a washed-up ex-revolutionary (DiCaprio) who is forced to come out from hiding to rescue his daughter, after she is targeted by his former nemesis, a corrupt military officer (Penn).
Irish star Jessie Buckley is the frontrunner in the Best Actress category for her work in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet, which is also up for Best Picture
Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia earned a Best Actress nod for Emma Stone
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein secured nine nominations. Leading the film’s acting honors is Jacob Elordi, who earned a Best Supporting Actor nod for his portrayal of the Creature
Aside from Penn and del Toro, the Best Supporting Actor category includes Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Delroy Lindo (Sinners) and Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value).
Paul Mescal (Hamnet), Adam Sandler (Jay Kelly), and Jesse Plemons (Bugonia) were the most notable snubs from the category.
Frankenstein and Sentimental Value both earned nine nominations at this year’s ceremony.
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is a lavish reimagining of Mary Shelley’s classic, focusing on a heart-wrenching tale of a father’s rejection and a creature’s quest for love.
Meanwhile, Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value follows two sisters forced to reconcile with their estranged filmmaker father.
Nominees for Best Supporting Actress include Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners) and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).
Conan O’Brien, 62, took to the stage tonight, returning to host the Oscars for a second consecutive year after taking over the role from Jimmy Kimmel
There was a massive backlash after Ariana Grande was snubbed in the Supporting category for Wicked: For Good.
She had been nominated last year for her work in the first film of the musical franchise.
Wicked: For Good was completely shut out of nominations. This came despite an acclaimed leading performance by Cynthia Erivo, as well as new songs written for the film, including No Place Like Home and The Girl In The Bubble.
Gwyneth Paltrow was also left off the list in the category for her work in Marty Supreme.
There was a new award announced this year for Best Casting as the inaugural field includes: Nina Gold – Hamnet, Jennifer Venditti – Marty Supreme, Cassandra Kulukundis – One Battle After Another, Gabriel Domingues – The Secret Agent, and Francine Maisler – Sinners.
The ceremony kicks off at 7pm ET/ 4pm PT, airing live on ABC and streaming live on Hulu. It will also be streaming via Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.