History! A draw at the 2026 Oscars is only the 7th time it’s happened

“Two People Exchanging Saliva” and “The Singers” were jointly awarded the Oscar for Best Fiction Short Film.

The short film by French artists Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh and that of Sam Davis, nominated in the best short fiction category, both walked away with a golden statuette on Sunday at the 2026 Oscars.

In 98 years of ceremony, this is only the seventh time this has happened. The last one was a little over 10 years ago: in 2013, Zero Dark Thirty And Skyfall shared the Oscar for best sound mixing. The first dates back to 1932 when Wallace Beery and Fredric March were crowned best actor.

The rule is strict: you cannot declare a tied that if both nominees receive the exact same number of votes, because on the fifth night of the Oscars, March actually received one more vote than Beery. The regulations then stipulated that two nominees separated by three votes or less would be rewarded at the same time.

Two people exchanging saliva tells a love story between two women in a world where kissing is forbidden. The short film which stars actresses Luàna Bajrami and Zar Amir Ebrahimi was also nominated for the 2026 Césars in the same category, but the film left empty-handed… The director duo is now working on a feature film. Adapted from the short story of the same name by Ivan Turgeniev, The Singers narrates the nocturnal adventure of two solitary men embarked on an improvised singing competition creating unexpected bonds…

Faced with this double victory, presenter Kumail Nanjiani did not hold back from being ironic on stage: “It’s a tie. I’m not kidding. It’s really a dead heat. Everyone calm down, we will get through this stage together. ” before adding, “It’s funny when you think about it: the Oscar for best short film will take twice as long.”

For his part, director Alexandre Singh wanted to highlight the power of art on society in his speech: “We believe that art can profoundly change people. (…) Maybe it will take ten years, but we can change society through art, creativity, theater, ballets — and cinema.” A little dig addressed to the interpreter of Marty SupremeTimothée Chalamet (nominated for an Oscar for best actor), who did not fail to attract wrath with controversial remarks: “Today no one cares about the Opera or the ballets”…

This Oscar ceremony marks the triumph of Paul Thomas Anderson. One Battle after another was awarded six times: best film, best director, best supporting actor, best adapted screenplay, best editing and best casting… But this is the first time in his 30-year career that the filmmaker has been crowned best director.