how many ties have there been in the oscars
There have been seven ties in competitive categories at the Oscars so far.
Quick Scoop
Across nearly 100 years of Academy Awards history (starting in 1929), the Oscars have only produced seven official ties where two nominees both received statuettes in the same category.
Here’s the breakdown of those rare moments:
- 1932 – Best Actor
- Wallace Beery – The Champ
- Fredric March – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
This first big tie even helped shape later voting rules about what counts as a “true” tie.
- 1950 – Best Documentary Short
- A Chance to Live
- So Much for So Little
Both short documentaries were awarded after landing on the same vote total.
- 1950 – Best Feature Documentary
- A Chance to Live and So Much for So Little are sometimes grouped in broader documentary tie discussions, but the recognized official tie on most lists is the short category above.
- 1968 – Best Actress
- Katharine Hepburn – The Lion in Winter
- Barbra Streisand – Funny Girl
They each reportedly received exactly 3,030 votes, making this one of the most famous acting ties ever.
- 1987 – Best Documentary (Feature)
- Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got
- Down and Out in America
Two very different docs walked away sharing the same Oscar night spotlight.
- 1995 – Best Short Film (Live Action)
- Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life
- Trevor
This tie is often remembered because both shorts went on to have strong cultural afterlives, especially Trevor.
- 2026 – Best Live Action Short (recent tie)
- At the 98th Academy Awards, there was another tie in Best Live Action Short, marking only the seventh time ever an Oscar category ended in a tie.
In total: when people ask “how many ties have there been in the Oscars,” the current answer is seven official ties in competitive categories.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.
