As theatrical windows collapse and old distribution models are rendered obsolete, the future seems likely to accommodate more multi-platform initiatives like “Billboard,” a self-described “cine-experience” by writer-director Zeke Zelker. Centered on an indie radio station that holds a promotional contest in a last-ditch bid for solvency, the project exists not only as an 89-minute feature film about a station manager who gives listeners the chance to win prizes with a marathon stay atop a billboard catwalk, but also as a 25-episode web series focused on the competitors. Another part of the multimedia experience: a virtual radio station that plans to host live events across the country. But Zelker’s three-ring circus of digital and social-media content needs a compelling main event, and this movie seems unlikely to inspire many to check out the supplementary materials.

Although “Billboard” is a drama, its most obvious comparison is the far better “Hands on a Hard Body,...