No one was injured when the drama ended after paramilitary officers stormed the cinema, Reuters reports, citing a police spokesman.
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The armed man entered the Kinopolis cinema in the town of Viernheim in the early afternoon on Thursday and apparently fired a gun.
Peter Beuth, the interior minister for the state of Hesse, said he had no information that anyone had been harmed.
She added that she had no information on the assailant’s identity and motives. He appeared to be confused and according to some reports, he held several people hostage around him at which time the police made a decision to take him down.
Mr Beuth also said: “The police had an emergency call at 2.45pm (12.45am NZT)”.
The man, who was wearing a mask, carrying a gun, and wearing a cartridge belt around his shoulder, reportedly fired a shot in the air before barricading himself in the building.
Mr Beuth said the man had given a confused impression, news agency dpa reported.
Authorities said he was found armed with a replica rifle, dummy grenades, and a pistol but it was unknown at the time of his death if all weapons were functional or not.
Security sources said the man did not appear to have links to terrorism.
Elite forces entered the theater, shot the gunman, and released the hostages.
The Darmstaedter Echo said 20 to 50 people had been injured.
A police spokeswoman in the nearby city of Darmstadt confirmed that “all the hostages were unhurt and led out of the building”.
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The incident comes just weeks after gunman Omar Mateen opened fire at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 and injuring dozens.
