Oscar winners break extremely rare record and viewers are left shocked

The winners for Best Live Action Short Film have just been announced at the 2026 Oscars - and shockingly, it was a tie.

That's right, in an extremely rare turn of events, both The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva took home the gong in the category.

Announcing the news, Kumail Nanjiani, who was presenting the award, said, "It's a tie! I'm not joking! It's actually a tie, so everyone, calm down!"

He then explained he was going to announce one winner, and they would come up on stage and accept their award, and then he would name a second winner.

As reported by IMDB, there have only been six ties in Oscars history, so understandably, viewers have been left shocked.

X users penned: "We’ve got a tie!! #Oscars" and "wild night for awards huh".

While a third exclaimed: "Omg the SEVENTH tie in Oscars history just happened!!!! this time in the Live-Action Short category."

There's just been a tie at the Oscars - and viewers don't know what to think (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

And a fourth wrote: "Is this the 1st #oscar tie ever?! Is that even legal lmao."

Someone else joked: "Does this mean they have to share the statue, or did the Academy have a spare in the back? Because that walk to the stage was beautifully awkward."

Even winners Sam A Davis and Jack Piatt, who directed and produced The Singers, said on stage: "A tie, wow, we didn't know that could happen."

While Nanjiani chimed in with: “Ironically, the award for short film will take twice as long.”

The 98th Academy Awards, as usual, are being held at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles tonight (15 March).

Hollywood's biggest names in the world of movies and entertainment are gathered together to see who will take home one of the most prestigious awards in the film industry.

The show is airing on ABC, streaming on Hulu, and airing live in more than 200 territories worldwide.

American TV show host and comedian Conan O'Brien, 62, is hosting the awards for his second consecutive year, after getting a slew of good reviews the first time around.

Meanwhile, journalist Amelia Dimoldenberg, best known for hosting the celebrity interview series Chicken Shop Date, has returned for the third year in a row as social media ambassador and correspondent for the official red carpet.

2026 Oscars nominees and winners

Best Director

• Paul Thomas Anderson - One Battle After Another - WINNER
• Ryan Coogler - Sinners
• Josh Safdie - Marty Supreme
• Joachim Trier - Sentimental Value
• Chloé Zhao - Hamnet

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Bugonia
• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• One Battle After Another - WINNER
• Train Dreams

Best Original Screenplay

• Blue Moon
• It Was Just an Accident
• Marty Supreme
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners - WINNER

Best Original Song

• 'Dear Me' - Diane Warren: Relentless
• 'Golden' - KPop Demon Hunters - WINNER
• 'I Lied to You' - Sinners
• 'Sweet Dreams of Joy' - Viva Verdi!
• 'Train Dreams' - Train Dreams

Best Original Score

• Bugonia
• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners - WINNER

Best International Feature

• It Was Just an Accident
• Sentimental Value - WINNER
• Sirât
• The Secret Agent
• The Voice of Hind Rajab

Best Animated Feature

• Arco
• Elio
• KPop Demon Hunters - WINNER
• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
• Zootopia 2

Best Documentary Feature

• Come See Me in the Good Light
• Cutting Through the Rocks
• Mr. Nobody Against Putin - WINNER
• The Alabama Solution
• The Perfect Neighbor

Best Costume Design

• Avatar: Fire and Ash
• Frankenstein - WINNER
• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• Sinners

Best Make-up and Hairstyling

• Frankenstein - WINNER
• Kokuho
• Sinners
• The Smashing Machine
• The Ugly Stepsister

Best Production Design

• Frankenstein - WINNER
• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners

Best Sound

• Frankenstein
• F1 - WINNER
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners
• Sirât

Best Film Editing

• F1
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another - WINNER
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners

Best Cinematography

• Frankenstein
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners - WINNER
• Train Dreams

Best Visual Effects

• Avatar: Fire and Ash - WINNER
• F1
• Jurassic World Rebirth
• Sinners
• The Lost Bus

Best Live Action Short

• A Friend of Dorothy
• Butcher's Stain
• Jane Austen's Period Drama
• The Singers - WINNER
• Two People Exchanging Saliva - WINNER

Best Animated Short

• Butterfly
• Forevergreen
• Retirement Plan
• The Girl Who Cried Pearls - WINNER
• The Three Sisters

Best Documentary Short

• All the Empty Rooms - WINNER
• Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
• Children No More: Were and Are Gone
• The Devil Is Busy
• Perfectly a Strangeness

Best Casting

• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another - WINNER
• Sinners
• The Secret Agent

Best Picture

• Bugonia
• Frankenstein
• F1
• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another - WINNER
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners
• Train Dreams

Best Actor

• Timothée Chalamet - Marty Supreme
• Leonardo DiCaprio - One Battle After Another
• Ethan Hawke - Blue Moon
• Michael B Jordan - Sinners - WINNER
• Wagner Moura - The Secret Agent

Best Actress

• Jessie Buckley - Hamnet - WINNER
• Rose Byrne - If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
• Kate Hudson - Song Sung Blue
• Renate Reinsve - Sentimental Value
• Emma Stone - Bugonia

Best Supporting Actress

• Elle Fanning - Sentimental Value
• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas - Sentimental Value
• Amy Madigan - Weapons - WINNER
• Wunmi Mosaku - Sinners
• Teyana Taylor - One Battle After Another

Best Supporting Actor

• Benicio del Toro - One Battle After Another
• Jacob Elordi - Frankenstein
• Delroy Lindo - Sinners
• Sean Penn - One Battle After Another - WINNER
• Stellan Skarsgård - Sentimental Value