Oscars 2026 is finally here to celebrate the films that took the internet by storm in 2025 with all the excellence they featured. As expected, the grand event surprised everyone with moments no one saw coming. One such moment was when the Best Live-Action Short Film category ended in a tie between two wonderful projects that deserved every bit of appreciation.
Well, those who have the records of the wins and the nominations since the beginning must be familiar with the fact that this is one of the rarest things to take place on the big night. So, the tie in the Best Live-Action Short category certainly made the Oscars 2026 even more special.
Best Live-Action Short Film Awards Result in a Historic Tie at Oscars 2026
Announced by the award-winning actor, Kumail Nanjiani, at the Oscars 2026, the Best Live-Action Short Film resulted in a rare tie between The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva. While Beebom predicted the awards would go to A Friend of Dorothy for this category, it would be fair to say that the movies had a greater impact , which eventually allowed them to be the victors.
The Singers is a 17-minute docu-series that doesn’t feature any well-known faces but rather people who went viral on social media, giving the audience the rawness that few films today have. The short musical film is a cinematic adaptation of the iconic 19th-century Russian story by Ivan Turgenev. It was initially released in March 2025, and Netflix added to its always-evolving library in February 2026, giving more fans the chance to witness its brilliance.
Now, if we talk about another winner in this category, Two People Exchanging Saliva, it is a film with one of the most unusual titles that obviously grabbed a lot of attention. Unlike the other nominated short films for the 98th Academy Awards, this one features a way more straightforward plot. Just two people trying to navigate intimacy, vulnerability, and emotional connection, that’s it.
Now, the category that majorly picks the film with the most experimental plot, how can it not end up picking projects like The Singers, and Two People Exchanging Saliva?
Has There Ever Been a Tie at the Oscars?
Yes, there have been six ties in the history of the Oscars. If you are curious to learn about them, below is a list shedding light on the films that shared an Academy Award over the years.
- Best Actor- Fredric March (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Wallace Beery (The Champ); 1932
- Best Documentary Short- A Chance to Live, So Much for So Little; 1950
- Best Actress- Barbra Streisand (Funny Girl), Katharine Hepburn (The Lion in Winter); 1969
- Best Documentary Feature- Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got, Down and Out in America; 1987
- Best Live Action Short Film- Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life, Trevor; 1995
- Best Sound Editing- Zero Dark Thirty, Skyfall; 2013
