The Oscar for best live action short film was a tie at the 98th Academy Awards — the first time an Oscar vote has ended in a tie in well over a decade.
Kumail Nanjiani presents the award for best live action short film during the Oscars on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
The creators of “The Singers” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva” took turns coming to the stage to accept their awards.
“And the Oscar goes to… it’s a tie! I’m not joking. It’s actually a tie. Everyone calm down, we’re going to get through this. Focus up,” presenter Kumail Nanjiani said. “I’m going to name one winner. They’ll come up and present their award. Then I’ll come back and name another winner, and then they’ll accept their award. Here we go!”
“A tie. Wow. I didn’t know that was a thing… a tie. But we’re happy to be up here,” “The Singers” creator Sam A. Davis said.
A tie has been awarded six times in Oscar history, with the last one happening in 2013 when “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Skyfall” tied for best sound editing.
Perhaps the most famous tie in Oscar history was when Katharine Hepburn, for “The Lion in Winter,” and Barbara Streisand, for “Funny Girl,” tied for best actress in 1969.
Streisand’s win was controversial at the time since she was inducted into the Academy voting body before her win, meaning she seemingly voted for herself. Normally, nominees are inducted the year after their ceremony.
Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has over 10,000 voting members. The rule is that if and only if there is an exact match in voting totals, the win qualifies as a tie.