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History made Sunday night when two films tied for the Best Live Action Short Film Oscar. ‘The Singers’ and ‘Two People Exchanging Saliva’ both won, marking only the seventh tie in Academy Awards history since 1932. Presenter Kumail Nanjiani couldn’t believe it either.
🔥 Quick Facts
- Award Category: Best Live Action Short Film at the 98th Academy Awards ceremony
- Both Winners: ‘The Singers’ (Netflix) and ‘Two People Exchanging Saliva’ (Canal+/The New Yorker)
- Historic Rarity: Only seventh tie in 94 years of Oscars history
- Last Tie: 2013 for Sound Editing between ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Zero Dark Thirty’
An Unexpected Moment at the Dolby Theatre
When Kumail Nanjiani opened the envelope for Best Live Action Short Film, he appeared visibly surprised. He collected himself and announced the unprecedented outcome: a tie. “It’s a tie. I’m not joking. It’s actually a tie,” the presenter said calmly. “So, everyone, calm down. We’re gonna get through this. Focus up.” The moment created instant buzz, with Conan O’Brien later joking that the unexpected result “ruined 22,000 Oscar polls.” Nanjiani quipped that the extended speeches made the ceremony longer: “It’s ironic that the short film Oscar is going to take twice as long.”
Meet the 2026 Winners
‘The Singers’, directed by Sam A. Davis from Potterville, Michigan, premiered on Netflix February 13, 2026. The film depicts an impromptu sing-off in a bar, celebrating the power of music and community. Davis won 35 awards across 50 film festivals in 2025 before the Oscar nomination. In his speech, he thanked his parents “who convinced a kid from Potterville that this was a viable career avenue.” He also credited his producers David Breschel and Jack Piatt, calling them “the guys who willed this thing into existence.” Davis emphasized that ‘The Singers’ is ultimately “a simple story about the power of music and art to bring us together in a moment when we live in an increasingly isolated world.”
Oscars tie as two films share Best Live Action Short award
Two people exchanging saliva wins Best Live Action Short Oscar
‘Two People Exchanging Saliva’, created by Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata, offers a starkly different vision. The dystopian French-language film explores a surreal world where kissing is a capital offense and people pay for goods by receiving slaps to the face. Shot in stark black-and-white, it follows Angine, an unhappy housewife, who develops a dangerous attraction to a playful salesgirl. Musteata thanked the Academy for “supporting a film that is weird and that is queer and that is made by a majority of women.” Singh reflected on cinema’s power, saying creators “believe that art can change people’s souls.”
Oscar Tie History Explained
| Year | Category | Winners |
| 1932 | Best Actor | Fredric March, Wallace Beery |
| 1942 | Documentary Short | ‘A Chance to Live’, ‘So Much for So Little’ |
| 1969 | Best Actress | Katharine Hepburn, Barbra Streisand |
| 1986 | Documentary Feature | ‘Down and Out in America’, ‘Artie Shaw’ |
| 1994 | Live Action Short | ‘Trevor’, ‘Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life’ |
| 2013 | Sound Editing | ‘Skyfall’, ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ |
| 2026 | Live Action Short | ‘The Singers’, ‘Two People Exchanging Saliva’ |
The 2026 tie marks only the seventh instance in Oscar history. The 1932 tie between Fredric March and Wallace Beery actually involved unusual circumstances: March received one more vote, but Academy rules at the time declared a three-vote margin as a tie. The Academy later changed these rules. This is the second tie in the Live Action Short category. The previous one occurred in 1994 (32 years ago) when ‘Trevor’ and ‘Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life’ shared the award.
“It’s a tie. I’m not joking. It’s actually a tie. So, everyone, calm down. We’re gonna get through this. Focus up.”
— Kumail Nanjiani, Oscar Presenter
What Made Both Films Stand Out
‘The Singers’ represents heartwarming, accessible storytelling about community and connection. The film brought together first-time actors, including Mike Yung, a street musician from New York City subway platforms. It resonated at 50 film festivals in 2025, earning 35 awards before Oscar consideration. The Netflix platform gave the film global reach, and Sam A. Davis had already proven himself as a producer with a 2023 Oscar nomination for producing ‘Nai Nai and Wai Po.’ The film’s message about music uniting people in an isolated world struck a chord with Academy voters.
‘Two People Exchanging Saliva’ impressed voters with its bold artistic vision and diverse international team. Directors Natalie Musteata (Romanian-American) and Alexandre Singh (Franco-Indian Brit) created a queer, feminist masterpiece. Executive producers include acclaimed actresses Julianne Moore and Isabelle Huppert. The cast and crew represent multiple countries: Argentinian, Italian, French, and Indian talent collaborated on this dystopian satire about desire, surveillance, and repression.
Why Did This Tie Break the Pattern?
The rare tie reflects the exceptional quality of both films this year, though the Academy hasn’t publicly disclosed exact voting margins. What made 2026 historic was that both films earned identical support from voting Academy members. The Live Action Short category has only tied once before in 1994, making this 32-year gap significant. The next time the Academy experiences a tie could be decades away, making March 15, 2026 a date remembered by cinephiles forever. Both directors’ acceptance speeches emphasized art’s power to transform souls and societies, perhaps explaining why voters couldn’t separate them.
Sources
- Rolling Stone – Coverage of the 2026 Oscars tie announcement and presenter reactions
- Deadline – Director speeches and historic context on previous Oscar ties
- Variety – Complete 2026 Oscars winners and tie significance analysis
