Insomnia, British director Christopher Nolan's follow-up to his acclaimed Memento, was launched into three of its final European territories last weekend, racing straight up the charts.

Opening in France on Nov 6 for Warner Bros, Insomnia shot into the top spot, displacing UIP's Red Dragon after just one week. The thriller took 401,107 admissions in the territory for a first week gross of $2.1m. Playing on 417 screens, some 157 fewer than the Hannibal Lecter title, Insomnia scored a strong average of $5,002 per screen.

The film also played well in the country's capital, Paris, where 128,513 admissions were recorded for a seven-day gross of $668,268. It played at 41 screens in the city for an impressive screen average of $16,299.

Also commencing on Nov 6 in Belgium, for Buena Vista International (BVI), Insomnia claimed a good $288,218 (Euros 284,471) - including $56,215 from the capital, Brussels - in its first five days. The film had to settle for second place in the territory behind Columbia TriStar's blockbuster XXX in its second week. However while XXX played on 74 screens for a healthy average of $4,884 per screen, Insomnia played at just 41 for a powerful $7,030 average - by far the highest of any film on release in the country. Including previews the film has taken $400,260 so far in Belgium.

Medusa launched Insomnia in Italy on Nov 8 where it again claimed the top spot with a resounding $1.2m (Euros 1.15m). The title, which stars Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank, showed at 221 screens for a positive average of $5,276 putting it ahead of Red Dragon, XXX and local blockbuster Pinocchio in the busy market.

Insomnia also continues to play in several other European territories. In the Netherlands it dropped off just 7% in its second weekend on release to take $136,855 (Euros 135,076) from 34 screens for an average of $4,025. At the end of its second full week on release it has grossed $403,565 in the territory for BVI.

In Switzerland, where it is handled by Elite, the film grossed $116,580 (SFR 168,458) from 22 screens in its fourth week on release, for an average of $5,299. The film jumped 30% from its previous week after opening in the French region of the country on Nov 6. It grossed $58,959 over the four-day weekend in the French region of Switzerland, off 11 screens for an average of $5,360.

Insomnia has grossed $8.2m (£5.2m) for BVI in the UK (where it continues to play). Other key territories include Mexico ($3.2m, Gussi), Australia ($3.1m, BVI), Spain ($2.95m, Tri Pictures), Germany ($2m, Warner Bros) and South Korea ($1.7m, Cinema Service).

A remake of Norwegian director Erik Skjoldbjaerg's 1997 film of the same name Nolan's version grossed $319,203 (NKR 2.3m) for BVI in Norway. It's North American gross, where it was distributed by Warner Bros, was $67.3m.