How many times have Oscar winners tied?
The Academy Awards is the most prestigious ceremony in the film industry, honouring the most significant contributions to cinema each year.
Since its inception in 1929, over 3,000 Oscars have been handed out to directors, actors, cinematographers, producers and more. For some, winning a golden statuette is one of the highest honours; for others, the awards are entirely superficial.
Still, since it began broadcasting on television in 1953, the Academy Awards ceremony is watched by millions every year. It’s one of the most anticipated and talked-about events in the film world, even drawing the attention of those who wouldn’t usually take much interest in cinema, signalling the weight of its cultural importance.
Every ceremony usually comes with a scandal, whether that’s a stage-invading streaker or a slap between host and contestant. However, sometimes drama is caused by the awards, such as the infamous La La Land and Moonlight ‘Best Picture’ mixup, caused by Faye Dunaway reading the wrong card.
Elsewhere, the Academy has purposefully awarded two contestants the same award due to a tie – knowing you must share your coveted award with someone else surely isn’t the greatest feeling. The occasion has happened seven times, beginning in 1932 at the third award-giving ceremony, although it was technically the fifth Academy Awards. Wallace Beary won for his performance as Andy ‘Champ’ Purcell in The Champ, tieing with Frederic March for his dual leading role in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
However, a tie didn’t occur for another 12 years when two winners were announced for ‘Best Documentary Short Subject’. So Much for So Little, directed by Chuck Jones and Fritz Freleng, was one of the two winners, an animated film about healthcare created for the United States Public Health Service. It shared the prize with James L. Shute’s A Chance to Live, a story about an Italian boy’s home.
The most well-known instance of a tie came in 1969 when Barbra Streisand and Katherine Hepburn were forced to share the ‘Best Actress’ prize, although only the former was present at the ceremony. Hepburn, who won the previous year for Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, earned the Oscar for Anthony Harvey’s The Lion in Winter. Meanwhile, Streisand was recognised for her performance as Fanny Brice in William Wyler’s Funny Girl. The actor played the character on Broadway for several years before transferring the role to the big screen, clearly perfecting her performance enough to win an Academy Award.
Two more ties happened in close succession during the 1980s and 1990s. First was a ‘Best Documentary Feature’ clash between Artie Shaw: Time is All You’ve Got and Down and Out in America in 1987. Then, in 1995, both Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life and Trevor won ‘Best Short Film (Live Action)’.
After almost 20 years, the Oscars awarded its most recent tie for ‘Best Sound Editing’ in 2013. Paul N.J. Ottosson took home the prize for Zero Dark Thirty, while Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers won for Skyfall. After winning the award, Ottosson told the Hollywood Reporter, “Just before our category came up, another fellow nominee sat next to me, and I said, ‘What if there’s a tie, what would they do?’ and then we got a tie.”
He added, “Any time that you get involved in some kind of history-making, that would be good.”
And, another moment came at the 98th Academy Awards in 2026. When, in one of the more curious moment ‘Best Live Action Short’ was actually shared by two nominees, The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva, becoming only the seventh time in history that the awards have been shared.
The seven times Oscar winners have tied:
- Wallace Beery (The Champ) and Frederic March (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) – ‘Best Actor’
- So Much for So Little and A Chance to Live – ‘Best Documentary Short Subject’
- Barbra Streisand (Funny Girl) and Katherine Hepburn (The Lion in Winter) – ‘Best Actress’
- Artie Shaw: Time is All You’ve Got and Down and Out in America – ‘Best Documentary Feature’
- Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life and Trevor – ‘Best Short Film (Live Action)’
- Paul N.J. Ottosson (Zero Dark Thirty) and Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers (Skyfall) – ‘Best Sound Editing’
- The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva – ‘Best Live Action Short’
