In an unprecedented move, the Producers Guild of America, a frequent predictor of the Best Picture Oscar, has split its top prize.

For the first time in the 25 year history of the PGA Awards, the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures was tied between the space thriller Gravity and the 1840s drama 12 Years a Slave.

The controversial decision conflicts with Hollywood’s other big awards of the weekend, which saw the Screen Actors Guild give their Oustanding Cast award to the stars of American Hustle.

Taken together, the two guilds have left all three films vying for the top awards at the Oscar ceremony on 2nd March, with awards watchers keeping a close eye on a handful of other events in the meantime, including the Directors Guild of America and the BAFTAs.

At the PGA’s awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where the Golden Globes were held a week earlier, producers also honoured Frozen as the Best Animated Feature and the Best Documentary went to We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks, which missed out on an Oscar nod.

In the television awards, the PGA voted Breaking Bad the best drama, Modern Family the best comedy and Behind the Candelabra the best TV movie, mirroring the SAG awards, a day earlier.