Rules explained as Oscar award tied for only the seventh time in 98 years

Viewers of the 98th Academy Awards were baffled after it was announced that the award for Best Live Action Short was a tie.

That’s only happened six times before in Oscars history - so it’s a seriously rare occurrence.

The Oscars continue to throw up surprises after 98 ceremonies

This year’s Oscars are likely to throw up some controversy, what with everything going on politically around the world.

In his early monologues, host Conan O’Brien already took a few swings at Donald Trump and former Prince Andrew to name but a few.

He also had a well-meaning dig towards Timothée Chalamet as well, who seemed to take it in stride.

However, one strange thing happened with regards to the actual awards themselves, as an extremely rare scenario unfolded.

The Best Live Action Short award isn’t known as a particularly anticipated award of the night, but it took center stage this time around when it was announced that there was a tie.

That meant that The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva both got one of the famous golden statues.

This has only happened a handful of times before now, and it hasn’t happened since 2013.

But what are the rules behind it?

The Oscars can have ties - as it turns out

While it is theoretically possible to tie, it is very rare, and statistically pretty unlikely.

Of course, you probably know that it all comes down to a vote, and the members of the Academy vote for their favorite among the nominees.

So, if two films - or more, as could theoretically be the case - get the exact same number of votes, they both get an award.

That means that they both get equal footing, equal status, and - as we heard - a speech of their very own.

It’s that simple really.

Since the start of the Oscars, there have only been six other ties.

In 1932 the Best Actor award was tied.

Then, in 1950 the Best Documentary Short was all-square, and then in 1969 Katherine Hepburn and Barbara Streisand split the Best Actress gong.

In 1987 it was the Best Documentary Feature award shared, before in 1995 the Best Live Action Short film - same as this year - was divided.

The last time it happened was in 2013, when Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall shared the honors for Best Sound Editing.

There you have it - it’s unlikely, but it can - and does - happen.